A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes
by x3ylime
Summary: Riley wants some excitement in her life. And that's just what she gets when she's transported to Spira. Join her in her journey to defeat Sin and find love along the way.
1. Chapter 1: Just an Ordinary Day

Las Vegas. Such an exciting place. Too bad I don't actually live in the city.

Oh, by the way, my name's Riley. Riley Baker. I'm 16 years young and currently living with my parents and younger brother.

As of right now, life is alright. School sucks, but what's new? I don't have a boyfriend. Shocker!

I'm not exactly what you'd call a "prep" or the pretty girl that everyone wants to be with. No, I'm just…average. Nothing exciting ever happens in my world.

But anyways, today was the day I had to work after school. I'm working as a babysitter right now. It's easy and it makes money.

Today, I have to babysit the kids of my parents' friends.

I pulled up to the house, parked my car, and walked inside. I was instantly greeted by a crawling, drooling toddler.

I laughed and picked her up. "How are you today Miss Jessica?"

She replied buy blowing a spit bubble and laughing hysterically before wiggling out of my arms.

I followed her into the living where her older brother was in front of the TV playing video games.

Figures. That's all the boy ever does when I come over to watch him.

I grabbed Jessica and sat down beside of him on the couch.

"Whatcha doing Trey?" He replied to me without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Final Fantasy X"

"X? Don't you mean 10? Sounds like a roman numeral to me."

"Whatever."

I chuckled at his slight addiction then turned to watch him play.

I knew Final Fantasy was a popular game series but I never understood why.

I watched as Trey navigated himself through a dark, temple like area surrounded by water.

His character was a tan, blonde teenager with a strange almost cross-like symbol on his outfit.

It didn't take long for me to become mesmerized by the game. It made me feel as though I was actually with the blonde Adonis, swimming through the water.

After awhile, I shook myself away from the TV and went to find Trey and Jessica's mother. We talked for a few minutes, and she left to run some errands.

I played for Jessica and accomplished getting Trey to stop playing his game so he could do his homework.

About an hour later, their mom came home, paid me and I went home.

Thanks to all the idiots planning on getting drunk and gambling, I was stuck in traffic for about 25 minutes.

I walked inside to see my brother playing the same video game that Trey was playing.

"Jeez, this game must be really fun. Everyone's playing it!"

My brother, Hunter, replied to me, "Duh. This game is amazing."

The blonde man was there again, except on a ship this time.

He had a very excited look on his face, like he was seeing something incredibly new. I have to admit, for being someone who isn't real, he was very handsome. I must've been gawking at the TV screen because my brother ended up smacking me upside the head.

"Quit drooling on my head! He's not even a real person!"

I shook my head and tried to hide my red cheeks. How embarassing. Drooling over a fictional character, get real, Riley!

I ran upstairs to my room and decided on doing my homework while listening to music. When I was done, I took a nice, hot shower.

It was starting to get colder outside. Winter was fast approaching! During my shower, I thought I heard something outside. Nothing was there, so I continued without a care.

When I was done, I combed my hair, got dressed, and crawled into bed.

For the first time in a long time, I prayed for some excitement in my life. It was a silly thing to pray for, but it was enough for me.

DREAM SEQUENCE

I was standing in some pitch black room.

"Where am I?"

I never expected someone to answer me.

"It begins."

"Huh?"

I looked around for the person who had answered me. I saw nothing but darkness.

"Where are you?"

"Don't cry."

"I-I'm not crying?"

This strange voice sounded so young, it was creepy. I turned around to see a little boy wearing a purple and blue hoodie that he had covering his face. As I tried to get a better look at his face, everything went white.

END DREAM SEQUENCE

I woke with a start the next morning. It was still slightly dark outside, so I was guessing it was around 5 in the morning.

I cautiously scanned my room for the little boy. After seeing that I was alone, I sighed and lied back down under my covers.

"I guess it was all just a dream."

But it felt so real. I thought it was all a dream, until something hit the window above my bed.

I sat up and looked outside to the street.

And right there was the little boy from my dream!

He just simply smiled and waved to me.

"What the…?"

The boy signaled for me to follow him as he started to run away.

"Huh? Uh, wait!"

I jumped out of bed and put on some jeans, a tan belt, black hi-top converse, a plain green t-shirt and a gray jacket.

I ran outside and down the street as fast as I could in order to catch up with the boy. Man, he was fast! Either that or I'm just out of shape. He seemed to just glide across the ground.

I finally spotted the kid and yelled to him.

"Hey! Wait up would ya?"

I'm not sure why I still followed him, but I chased him all the way across separate streets until I cornered him in an alleyway. We both stopped running and I tried to catch my breath as I knelt down in front of him.

"Okay. Who are you and why were you in my dream?"

The boy just smiled at me. "You will find out soon enough."

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you ready?"

What is this kid thinking? Is he on drugs or something?

"Ready for what?"

He simply replied, "Your journey."

Okay, it's official. I'm losing my mind.

I'm talking to a little boy about my journey? RIIIIIGHHHT.

As if I'm going anywhere.

That's when the boy reached out for my hand.

"Please, come with me."

In my moment of weakness, I let him grab onto my hand and all I could see was his smile through the blinding white light.


	2. Chapter 2: Arrival in Spira

The sound of crashing waves woke me up. My body felt like jelly as I slowly started to move.

_*Okay, let's take this one step at a time.*_

I opened my eyes and was surprised to see I was lying on some sand. I cautiously stood up and tried to regain my composure. My clothes and hair were soaking wet and smelled like salt water.

Apparently it was night here; maybe I'm on the other side of the world. I decided to take in my surroundings and walk around to find out where I was.

As I walked, I remembered what the little boy had told me.

"_On your journey, you will meet many new people and go to many different places. Along the way, you must remember to keep your guard up. Don't reveal too much about the world you came from. You might upset a few people. And most importantly, we're counting on you to lead us to freedom. Don't let us down!" _

Freedom? From what?

I continued to walk down across with descending waterfalls on the right side. This place was really pretty. I wonder what it looked like in the daylight.

Maybe I'm in Jamaica!

While I was thinking, a rabid wolf jumped out in front of me!

"AHHHHH!"

I've never seen a wild wolf before! What do I do? I tried to run away but it caught up to me and slashed me across the back.

"AGH! That freakin' hurt!"

I started to scream bloody murder as I ran down a giant hill towards what looked like a village. Of course my clumsy-ness kicked in and I tripped over nothing. The wolf came closer to me and I retaliated by throwing rocks at it.

That didn't help very much though. I prepared myself for death until the ugly beast fell over. Someone hit it with what looked like a soccer ball.

I sighed heavily and looked up to greet my savior.

"Hey! You okay?"

A man with spiky, orange hair approached me. He was very tan and muscular.

"That was a close one, ya?"

His Jamaican accent made me smile.

"Thank goodness you came! I thought I was gonna die!"

He laughed and I introduced myself to him.

"Name's Wakka. Cap'n of the Besaid Aurochs."

"Besaid?"

"That's right. The Isle of Besaid. Only a small fraction of Spira."

_*Where the hell is Spira?*_

I just simply shook my head.

I was too tired to find out about Spira and Besaid.

"You look tired. How 'bout I take ya back to the village to rest?"

I nodded my head and I followed Wakka into the small village lodge. He found me a bed; I thanked him for saving me again.

"Hey, no problem. Praise be to Yevon that I got there before you became dog food."

I laughed at his corny joke. I told him goodnight and he bowed down while folding his arms.

I thought it was a bit odd but I simply shrugged and laid down in my bed and fell asleep.

Maybe it was all just a dream.

The next morning, I awoke in the tent alone. I guess it wasn't a dream after all.

I slowly stood up and walked outside to a small village filled with sunshine and laughter.

This place is nothing like Vegas!

"Hey! Look who's awake!"

I turned to see my red-headed savior from the night before.

"Morning, Wakka."

"Sleep well, did ya? Never thought you were gonna wake up."

I laughed with him until my stomach started growling, very loudly. I giggled whenever Wakka took notice of my stomach making strange sounds.

"Hungry, ya?"

Come on over to my place and we'll fix you up something."

I eagerly followed him over to his hut. Inside, I plopped down onto his bed while he started making me some food.

After a few minutes of silence, I began to talk to Wakka about Besaid.

"Wakka? Where exactly am I?"

He looked at me as if I was the dumbest person on the planet.

"You're on the Isle of Besaid, ya? It's on the very bottom tip of Spira."

Even though I heard about all of this last night, I still needed to know how far away I was from Vegas and if I was ever going to be able to go back.

Just as I had started eating, a woman wearing a long, black dress walked into the hut. To be honest, she scared me a little bit.

Her makeup was very dark and she had long, black hair. She seemed to show no emotion but when she looked at me, I could hint some jealousy.

"Wakka, you are needed at the temple."

She looked back at me and slightly gasped.

Probably at the fact that I was eating like a total pig. I swallowed my food loudly and nervously chuckled. I managed to get out a small "hiya" before she went on a rampage.

"Wakka, who is _she_?"

"SHE would be Riley. I saved her last night from becoming a fiend. She's new around here, ya?"

The woman looked at me a third time and I decided to flash her a big smile. She seemed a bit taken aback but nevertheless she greeted me.

"Welcome to the village."

She must've been in a hurry because right after she said that, she left. I frowned a bit at the thought of someone disliking me after just meeting me.

"Don't worry about Lu. She's always been like that. But c'mon, we gotta go to the village temple."

I nodded and we made our way up to the temple. Inside, I instantly got goosebumps.

The most perfect song was echoing through the entire temple.

"Wow." That was all I could manage to say.

"It's the Hum of the Fayth. Really touching to the soul."

Some guy I guessed to be a priest approached me.

"It's beautiful."

"The faith sacrificed so much for us, and to think, even this song is a part of something much more."

I looked around at some of the statues. I had no idea who any of these people were.

This was nothing like churches back in Vegas. Churches in Vegas weren't even fit to be labeled as churches. They were just buildings where drunk couples could get hitched so that they wouldn't have to spend a ton of money for a big, classy ceremony.

This whole place was just…different.

After a few more minutes of listening to the song, Wakka came back over to me followed by a girl who looked about my age.

She wore a white and blue kimono with flowers on it.

Her brown hair was a bit below her shoulders and her eyes were two different colors.

"Yuna, this is Riley. She's new to the village."

She smiled brightly at me and bowed before me.

"Praise be to Yevon that you're alive! Wakka told me all about how he saved you from a fiend."

I chuckled lightly and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Hehe, yeah. I was almost dog food."

She giggled at me and introduced herself.

"My name is Yuna. Future summoner of Besaid."

"Nice to meet you. I'm not from around here so if I say anything funny, don't pay any attention to it."

I began to chuckle nervously as Wakka studied me.

"Uhhh, how did you say you got here, again?"

"All I remember is that a little boy was in my dream then he was somehow transported me here…I think. I mostly just remember washing up on the shore here."

Yuna and Wakka started exchanging strange looks.

"You don't think…?"

_*Oh no, what did I do wrong this time?*_

"Sin?"

"I think that might be it."

"It seems to make sense, ya?"

"Yes! This must've been what happened."

I started to feel left out so I butted myself into their conversation.

"Uhhhh, so what happened?"

Yuna apologized for ignoring me and explained it all to me.

"We believe that you were brought here by Sin."

"Huh?"

"That would explain why she doesn't remember anything that goes on around here."

It seemed to make sense, to them. I was just as confused now as I was when I got here.

We left the temple and I talked to Yuna. She told me all about Spira, summoners and their duty, and some of her past endeavors. All that summoners have to do is get this Final Aeon thing and save Spira from Sin. It sounded simple enough.

I also met the Besaid Aurochs. They told me all about the game of Blitzball. Think about a combination of football, soccer and swimming. That's what Bliztball is.

Yuna and I tried to play with all the boys, but I ended up getting a bloody nose and she got yelled at by Lulu. Neither of us cared though. We had fun anyways.

It became official to everyone in the village at the daily bonfire that I was a new kid and that everyone would help me out if I ever needed anything.

Apparently I was staying at the Crusaders lodge here until it was time to leave. Everyone here is so pleasant and nice!

It's nothing like people in Vegas.

Yuna even bought me some new clothes.

Since I couldn't bear to part with my hi-top Chuck Taylors, I kept those and put all my old clothes in a bag.

Yuna said she liked them because they reminded her of clown shoes.

Besaid is a warm place, so I settled on wearing black spandex bottoms, a neon blue tank top with a white one underneath. I left my hair down, since it was naturally straight anyways and I hated wearing it up. I topped off my outfit with black, fingerless gloves and my heart pendant.

Yuna told me I looked drop dead sexy. That girl made me laugh even when she doesn't try to be funny.

She was a really nice. I learned she was 17 years old and we actually had a lot of common.

She was almost like a sisterly figure to me. And Wakka was like a brother.

Even though this isn't Vegas, it was still pretty fun.

Besaid had begun to feel like home to me.


	3. Chapter 3: The Blonde Adonis

It's been about a week since I arrived in Besaid. I've made a great friend in Yuna, Wakka's turning into the brother I never had, and I talk to Lulu more each day.

I also met Kimarhi Ronso. Man! He is a total beast! He's probably almost 7'0 and a mix between man and cat. He's definitely the strong, silent type.

I've also been learning a lot about Spira and the people.

Yesterday, Yuna went into the deep part of the temple to finish her summoner training. I haven't heard anything about how she's doing yet.

Of course I'm worried, but she's a strong person.

Lulu and Kimarhi are with her too, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

I believe that she'll do just fine.

Today, I decided to head down to the beach and hang out with the guys. The island was crawling with fiends, so I had to defend myself along the way.

Fortunately, I had started fighting in battles using guns. It was the only weapon I was familiar with.

What? If you live in Las Vegas, you gotta learn how to shoot. How else will you chase off a robber or a crazy hooker?

I began to carry them with me everywhere on a belt that wrapped loosely around my waist.

I arrived at the beach and greeted the boys who were playing Bliztball as usual. I grabbed a ball and decided to join them.

I'm not that great at Bliztball, but I'm good enough to play in the game. Not alone though. I'd lose for sure.

Soon, my short attention span kicked in and I got bored. I found myself just staring at the sea. It was the most beautiful shade of blue. It was really mesmerizing.

Then, something caught my eye.

Someone was floating out in the middle of the sea!

I began to whistle and yell "HEY!" but the person just stayed face down.

"Wakka! There's someone out there!"

And instead of going out there to save them, what does he do? He throws a Bliztball at their head.

"Well, if they aren't already dead, they probably are now."

All the guys laughed at my serious joke.

Miraculously, the person slowly got up and acknowledged the Blitzball. Wakka asked if he was okay and the person responded by yelling "Heeeey!" and doing this sweet Blitzball move. It shot across the sky and nearly missed Wakka's head.

He slowly swam to shore and my jaw nearly dropped to the ground when he stood up.

It was the blonde guy from the video game my brother was playing!

_*No, no, no! This cannot be right! Either I'm in a video game, or this kid was brought to life. And if I am in a video game, no, that-that's impossible!*_

The idea sounded completely ludicrous. I just wasn't even going to think about that.

I just need to get back home, soon and check myself into a mental hospital. Vegas has plenty of them.

I snapped out of my thoughts and walked over to Wakka and the blonde man.

"You wanna try that move one more time?"

Wakka was just aching to see this kid in action.

And as requested, he popped the ball into the air with his nose, jumped up-side down and kicked it out to sea.

I was amazed with this guy. His moves were nearly perfect.

"You're no amateur. Who do you play for?"

The man smiled and said, "The Zanarkand Abes."

Everyone began to gasp and whisper, except for me.

"What team you say again?"

The man looked confused and tried to explain himself.

"Uh, I meant…forget that! I got too, uh…close to Sin and my head's all foggy-like. So I don't know where this place is. Or even where I came from."

I looked at him and slightly chuckled, "Welcome to the club."

Wakka nodded. "Sin's toxin got to you and you're still alive. Praise be to Yevon!"

Everyone bowed and did the prayer while the man stood there confused.

"Alright! Back to practice!"

The boys went back to practicing and I ran down the beach to grab my ball. I had enough time to practice later.

I needed to find out more about this mystery man.

When I came back, Wakka had him in a headlock and was laughing about him being a Zanarkand Abe.

Wakka finally released him and walked away, so I took this as my window of opportunity.

"Hi there!"

The man looked deep in thought but greeted me nonetheless.

"Hiya."

"Cool moves out there."

He looked at me and smiled. "Thanks."

"My name's Riley."

I held out my hand and he shook it.

"Cute name. I'm Tidus."

I giggled as he commented on my name. He had piercing blue eyes that almost matched the ocean.

"You wanna show me around? It would be nice to actually hang out with someone who's my own age for a change."

I shook my head. "I know how you feel. I'd be happy to show you around."

He smiled at me, "Great."

We walked out of the beach and into the woodsy part of the island. It was silent between the two of us until he noticed my Bliztball.

"So, you play too?"

I chuckled, "Actually, I just started playing a few days ago. I don't know a whole lot."

"Well, maybe I could help you out. You know, be your teacher or something."

I smiled at him, "That would be nice."

For being a character out of a video game, he sure was cute. His shaggy blonde hair matched perfectly with his bronze skin. He was definitely not like average teenagers from Vegas.

What am I thinking? He isn't real Riley. But then again... Aww, what the hell? I shouldn't mess with a good thing.

We saw Wakka standing there and he was motioning for us to follow him.

"Hey! It's this way!"

_*What's he doing? The village isn't that way.*_

We decided to follow him to the edge of a cliff by a lagoon. Tidus just stared confusingly at the water.

"Huh?"

Then I noticed that Wakka was creeping behind Tidus and was planning to push him in. He signaled for me to be quiet, and I let a small giggle escape my mouth.

Right when Wakka pushed him, Tidus grabbed my arm and down we went into the water. I screamed as we fell under the water and Tidus lifted me up to breathe with him.

I gasped for breath and splashed Tidus in the face.

"Hey! What did I do?"

Above us, Wakka was holding his side from laughing so hard. It took him almost 2 minutes to calm down and jump in with us.

"What's the big idea?"

"Yeah, Wakka! What's up with that?"

Wakka simply nodded and swam away from us. I loved how Wakka always gave a straight up answer. **Not.**

Tidus and I swam after him, collecting underwater treasures. I even found a string of beautiful pearls in a treasure chest.

_*This would make a pretty bracelet.*_

After a few minutes of swimming, Wakka came up and got Tidus in another headlock. Headlocks must be Wakka's thing.

Apparently, Wakka wants Tidus to join the Aurochs to give them a chance in winning the Bliztball Tournament.

"It's so huge! I'm sure someone there will recognize you!"

"Sure."

Wakka seemed pretty pleased with himself, but I didn't care. I began to float on my back and stare into the sky. Besaid really was paradise. If only I had my family with me, then I'd be set. I really do miss them. I hope I get to go home soon. But for some reason, I have this feeling that that's not going to happen.

I was torn from my thoughts when Tidus splashed in my face.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty!"

I spat the water out of my eyes and splashed him back. He looked at me a bit taken aback, but I stuck out my tongue and swam away.

Finally, we came back to dry land. It's a good thing the sun was always shining in Besaid, or else my clothes would never dry!

I followed Wakka up on the hill and we overlooked the village.

"This is where I was born. I started blitz when I was five. I joined the Aurochs at thirteen...ten years ago."

Wakka started to look at the ground in embarrassment.

"Ten years...and we never won a game. Well, after last year's tournament, I quit. Time seemed right."

Wakka started walking down the hill and we followed him until Tidus' stomach began to growl. This made me laugh.

"So, after quitting, I got this new job, ya? But every time my mind wandered, I thought about the game."

"Ten years without a single win'll do that."

"My first match last year was my big chance. But something else was on my mind. I couldn't focus."

"Nice excuse."

I chuckled at how Tidus was being so rough on Wakka.

"Hey, hey!"  
>"So you want to win the next tournament-go out with a bang."<p>

Wakka nodded his head.

"So, what's our goal?"

"I don't care how we do. Long as we play our best. If we give it our all, I can walk away happy."

"No, no, no, no, no. If I say "What's our goal?" you say "Victory!" When you play in a Blitzball tournament, you play to win!"

Wakka paused, "Victory? You serious?"

"No Wakka, he means losing is the goal."

Tidus laughed at my sarcasm while Wakka simply glared at me.

After the encouraging speech, we walked down the hill and towards the village and ran into Luzzu and Gatta.

"Ah, the one from the sea!"

"Be on guard. There're fiends on the road today!"

"After surviving your run-in with Sin, 'twould be a shame if something happened now."

They walked away and Tidus immediately began to ask questions.

"Who were they?"

"Luzzu and Gatta, Crusaders."

"Crews of what?"

Wakka raised his eyebrow, "What, you forgot that too?"

Tidus hung his head in shame.

Poor guy. I don't blame him. I don't know any of this stuff either.

"Hey, sorry. Don't worry about it, I'll help you out."

Tidus raised his head, "Cool. In return, come tournament time, I'll make sure we take the cup!"

"Cool. About the Crusaders, you can ask them yourself. They've got a lodge in the village."

We began to walk to the village and I whispered something to Tidus.

"Hey, don't worry about not knowing anything. I'm not from here either so I don't know a lot."

He looked at me and smiled.

"Really? That's cool! Now if I question something, I won't feel as dumb because you won't know what it is either."

"I'm not sure whether to think of that as a compliment or not."

We both laughed, earning a look from Wakka.

"You two okay back there?"

We finally reached the small village a few minutes later.

"Besaid Village."

Wakka made it sound like it was the greatest place on the planet. Once again, Tidus' stomach made unsatisfied noises.

"They got any food there?"

"We'll get you something over there later. Take a look around first. Let's see... the Crusaders lodge is over yonder. Luzzu and Gatta are usually there. Hmm, oh, right. Over here!"

Wakka pulled us both back behind a wall.

"Huh? What's up?"

"You do remember the prayer, right?"

Yuna had already taught me how to do the prayer gesture whenever I first arrived in Spira. I figured Tidus probably didn't know it either.

Tidus just nodded his head in confusion.

"Man, that's like the basics of the basics. Alright, I'll show you."

Wakka demonstrated it by bowing then bring his hands up into a circle looking position.

"Go ahead, you try."

Tidus did it, and it didn't look half bad either.

"Hey, not bad. Okay, now go present yourself to the temple summoner."

I figured that since Tidus had to go walk around town, that I could go relax some.

I walked into Wakka's hut and plopped down onto the couch. I decided to make a bracelet out of the pearls I had found in the lagoon earlier.

After completing it, I fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4: A Summoner is Born

During my slumber, I heard someone come into the hut and talk to Wakka.

"You could at least go see how they are doing."

"We can't interfere. It's a rule."

"But it's been nearly…"

I rolled over on the couch and slowly opened my eyes. I thought I was alone, until someone moved on the bed. I squinted my eyes to make out the figure. It was just Tidus, snoozing. I slowly sat up and he jumped up from the bed, scaring the crap out of me.

"Wakka?"

"Nope. It's just me."

He turned around and looked at me with sleepy eyes.

"Where's Wakka?"

I stood up and ran my fingers through my hair.

"I don't know. He's probably at the temple with the priest or something."

"You mean that place with all the statues?"

I giggled. He really wasn't from around here.

"Yes, that place."

He got up from the bed and we walked together up to the temple. Inside, Wakka was talking to one of the priests, just like I had said. We approached them and Tidus asked them what was wrong.

"The summoner hasn't returned from the trial."

"Eh?"

"Well, apprentice summoner, really…"

"Ah?"

Tidus was just as confused as ever. Luckily, I knew they were talking about Yuna.

"There's a room in there called the Cloister of Trials. Beyond is where the apprentice summoner prays. If the prayer is heard, the apprentice becomes a fully-fledged summoner, remember?"

I was already worried enough about her, but I wasn't just going to sit out here if something had happened to her in there.

I ran up the stairs towards the door that led to the trial.

"Riley! Wait a minute!"

"What for? What if she's hurt?"

"The precepts must be obeyed!"

"I don't care! I'm not gonna let my friend die before she gets a chance to save all of us!"

I opened the door and walked inside, the sound of gasping people echoing through the walls. I entered the Cloister of Trials and began to put spheres in random slots until I finally got the final door to open. I took a deep breath and walked onto the stone elevator, until I heard someone behind me.

"Hey! What's gotten into you?"

I turned to see Wakka, with Tidus trailing close behind. I could tell that Wakka was disappointed in me.

I hung my head, "Wakka. I'm sorry. I just couldn't stand there and hoped that she would be okay.."

He patted me on the back. "It's alright, ya?"

I really didn't feel right making the assumption that I was needed by Yuna. But she was my friend and I wanted to be there for her. The three of us got on the elevator and descended into the heart of the temple.

"Me? I'm a guardian."

I looked over at Wakka as he explained to Tidus what guardians were.

"Summoners go on a pilgrimage to pray at every temple in Spira. Guardians protect them. The guardians in there now... one of them's got a short fuse, and who knows what the other's thinking.

The elevator stopped and we heard the singing of a woman echo through the whole room. It was the same song that I heard in the temple a few floors above us.

"Well, now that we've come this far... might as well go all the way!"

Together, the three of us walked into a room where we saw Lulu and Kimahri were standing. Anyone with a brain could tell that Lulu was mad.

"What are you doing here? Didn't think we'd be able to handle it?"

It was also no shocker that Wakka was afraid of Lulu. She could be really hard on him sometimes.

"No, it's uh…it's just…" He turned around to look at Tidus and I for support.

"See, I told you she gets mad easy."

I sheepishly hid from the eyes of both Lulu and Kimahri. I didn't want to be branded as a delinquent.

"Is the summoner alright?"

Oh Tidus, you need to learn to keep your mouth shut sometimes.

Lulu looked at him and slightly gasped.

"Who are you?"

As soon as she said that, a door at the top of the stairs opened up to reveal a very tired and rather sweaty Yuna. She tried to walk down the stairs, but stumbled and began to fell forward. We all gasped and started to run to catch her. Luckily for us, Kimahri was already there to get her back on her feet. She fixed her hair a bit, looked at all of us and smiled.

"I've done it. I have become a summoner!"

Wakka and I cheered and we all ran up to her to congratulate her. I tightly hugged her and almost cried.

"You have no idea how worried I was!"

She laughed and returned my hug. I pulled away and spilled my guts to her.

"I'm sorry I'm in here right now, but I got so worried and I just couldn't stand around and wait to see if you were okay and -"

"Whoa! Riley, calm down." She stopped me from my apologetic rambling.

"It's okay if you're in here. I'm fine and I'm sorry I had you so worried. Come meet me at the top of the hill later. I need to ask you something in private."

I nodded and all of us left the temple to greet the other villagers.

Outside, everyone gathered in the town circle with Yuna in the middle. Suddenly, both Tidus and I were in headlocks by who? You guessed it. Wakka.

"Wait til you guys see this!"

"I can't see anything!"

Tidus and I both tried to exchange looks because we had said the same thing.

He released both of us and signaled to Yuna that we were ready. She nodded and took a stance and started twirling her staff around. Lights began to surround her and shot up into the sky as a large, multi- colored bird-like creature landed in front of Yuna. It was really strong, but gentle at the same time. Yuna reached up and petted it as everyone erupted into "oohs" and "ahhs." It flew away and everyone went to talk to Yuna. Tidus and I just stared at each other in confusion.

"Well, that was interesting."

He grabbed the back of his neck and chuckled. "It sure was."

I walked over to one of the villagers and kindly asked them what the big bird thing was.

"That's what we call an Aeon. They hear the cries of the summoners and come from the heavens to aid them in battle. The one you just saw if called Valefor."

I said my thanks and explained the same thing to Tidus.

"An Aeon, huh? Funny name!"

I laughed at him and remembered that Yuna wanted to meet me on the hill. I told Tidus I would see him later and walked up to the hill to see Yuna overlooking the village.

"Hey!"

She turned to me and flashed me a smile.

"I saw your Aeon. Very cool."

"You really think so?"

I smiled and gave her a thumbs up. She laughed at my gesture.

"So, you said you needed to ask me something?"

"Oh yes. Riley, I've only known you for about a week now, but it feels like we've been friends forever. You're really someone I can rely on. And I know you aren't from around here, but I want to ask you if you would become my guardian?"

_*I don't even know what all a guardian does!*_

But I know how disappointed Yuna would be if I said no. Plus, maybe I could find my way home during the pilgrimage.

"Wow, that's a big responsibility to take."

"You won't be the only one. Wakka, Lulu and Kimahri will be there at all times as well."

This made me feel more confident. Being the only one guarding Yuna would be tough work.

"Yuna, I will gladly be your guardian."

She smiled and hugged me tightly.

"This shall be the best pilgrimage ever!"

I laughed at her enthusiasm. She's going to end up saving the world anyways. Why not be happy?

"Now, go get ready for the party tonight."

"Party? Okay."

I was guessing it was for her becoming a summoner. We walked back into the village and I went straight to Wakka's hut to catch up on some more sleep.


	5. Chapter 5: Party in Besaid

When night fell, everyone in the village gathered together for the celebration of Yuna's becoming of a summoner.

There was a bonfire, food and the little kids played games. It reminded me of the parties that my family used to have when I was little.

I was standing there talking to some of the locals whenever I was pulled away by Wakka.

"Ouch! Hey, what's the big idea?"

"Riley, you already know the team, but this guy over here wants into the tournament so bad, I let him on the team." He motioned towards Tidus who was rubbing the back of his neck.

"That makes the team odd-numbered, ya? So, after a lot of thinking, we decided to add you onto the team too."

My mouth dropped open.

"Uh, Wakka, I hate to inform you but I JUST started playing blitzball so I have no idea how a real game will be."

"You'll do just fine! I believe in you."

I smiled, even though I was doubtful on the inside.

"As for this guy, his memory's a little fuzzy, so don't mind if he says anything odd!"

He pushed Tidus into the middle of the circle we had made.

"Come on, say hi."

Tidus sort of blushed and began rubbing the back of his neck again. It must be a nervous habit of his.

"Uh…hi guys. So, what's our goal?"

The whole team replied, "To do our best!"

Wakka had to intervene with everything the Aurochs had ever been taught.

"Nope, we got a new goal now! Our new goal…is victory! To win every match, defeat every opposing team! To bring the Crystal Cup back to our island! That's all we need to do to win! Easy, ya?"

The Aurochs all exchanged looks and mumbled amongst themselves. One by one, they began to chant "victory…"

Soon, they were shouting and chanting "VICTORY!" over and over again.

It made me laugh, until I turned around and saw Yuna smiling at Tidus. And of course, he walked over to her and they started talking.

_*Well, there go my chances.*_

I shrugged my shoulders and walked out of the village. I never did have the best luck with love.

I don't think I stand a good chance against Yuna. She's pretty, older and is a summoner who's gonna save the world. Who _doesn't _want that in a girlfriend?

I reached the beach and sat down by the shore. The song from the temple had been stuck in my head all day, so I began to hum it.

The water was so calm and the sky was a beautiful shade of midnight blue. It was so quiet and peaceful that I almost fell asleep.

A few minutes later, I heard gentle footsteps coming from behind me.

I sat up and turned around to see Tidus walking towards me.

_*He left Yuna to see me? Maybe he just needs something.*_

I looked up and smiled slightly at him.

"Mind if I join you?"

I looked at him a bit confused, but I didn't object.

"Sure."

He sat down next to me and sighed.

"I didn't see you anywhere at the party so I came to look for you."

This shocked me, a lot. No guy has ever said they wanted to come look for me anywhere.

Did I just hear Hell freeze over?

"Thanks. I just wanted to get away from everyone for awhile."

"Oh! Sorry. Uh, do you want me to, uh, leave?"

I laughed, "Nah, this is nice."

"Whew!"

I giggled at him. He really was cute when he was nervous.

"You know, it is nice. It's not every day that I get to talk to a girl as cool as you."

I blushed slightly, "Thanks, Tidus."

It became silent for a few minutes until he spoke up.

"So, you're going on the boat tomorrow, too?"

"Sure am. I am on the blitz team now, thanks to Wakka."

I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye.

"Cool."

I smiled as I thought of a brilliant idea in my head.

"Maybe you can give me some Bliztball pointers while we're on the boat."

He chuckled, "Maaaaaaybe I could. I'm sure you wouldn't need any pointers, though."

I giggled at his compliment. "Yeah, I do! I only started playing a few days ago. I honestly don't know what Wakka's thinking."

"Well, he's seen you play and I haven't. But he told me that he sees great potential in you. I see it too."

"Well, thank ya!"

"Don't worry, I'll train you to become a champ. And with our combined forces, no one will stop us from taking the cup!"

I laughed as he made hand motions to show our supposed 'combined forces.'

"Alright, well if we're gonna do that, then I need some sleep."

I stood up and started walking back to the village until I heard him running behind me.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

I laughed and started to run up the hill and past the waterfalls. It didn't take very long for him to catch up to me and grab me around my waist.

"Gotcha now!"

I laughed as I tried to break free from his strong arms. I stopped squirming around long enough to notice the incredible tan on his arms. Well, just one of his arms because the other one was covered up by armor.

We just stood there, in silence, him holding me and his warm breath trickling down my neck. I shivered and he took notice by holding me a bit tighter.

After a few minutes, he coughed and let go of me.

"Sorry about that."

I looked down at the ground and blushed, "No problem."

We walked back to the village together, in silence. There were still a lot of people awake, but I decided to go straight to bed.

I walked into the crusader's lodge, picked a bed and quickly fell asleep.

I awoke later that night to the sound of a heated argument.

"He's dead, okay? Dead!"

I raised an eyebrow and walked over to the door to see Tidus listening to the argument as well.

"Woke you up too, huh?"

He looked at me and nodded. I stood beside him and peeked outside of the curtain to see Lulu and Wakka, alone.

"He does look a lot like Chappu. I was surprised, too, the first time I saw him. But no matter what he looks like, he isn't Chappu. You shouldn't have brought him here in the first place!"  
>"Yeah, but...he needed our help!"<p>

"Excuses again?"

"Yeah, but..."

"That's it. No more. Enough, Wakka!"

And just like that, Lulu flipped her hair and walked away. Wakka just sighed and walked over to see us standing there at the opening of the tent.

"Scary!" Tidus exclaimed.

Wakka nodded and I giggled slightly.

"So, who's Chappu?"

Wakka frowned, "My little brother, Chappu. He looked like you."

"He's dead?" We both asked.

"He was with the Crusaders when they fought Sin last year. He didn't make it. I first heard on the day of the tournament."

"Oh, so that's why."

I frowned. I couldn't imagine the feeling of losing a sibling that was so close to me.

"I became a guardian to fight Sin, ya?"

"Revenge, then?" Tidus asked.

Wakka nodded his head, "That was the idea. I'm more worried about a stupid game now than avenging my brother. Well, after the next tournament, I'll be a guardian full-time. I know it kinda looks like I'm using you two, but I'm not."

"Don't worry. I mean, I owe you a lot. You really helped me out, you know?"

"Me too, Wakka. I would be dead by now if it wasn't for you."

"What we mean is... thanks, Wakka."

Tidus extended his hand for a handshake. Wakka lifted his hand, but then he pulled away.

"Stop, you're embarrassing me!" Wakka blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

The three of us laughed, but after being shushed by the other people in the tent, we went to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: The Journey Begins

I woke up the next morning in the empty tent. I remembered we were leaving today, so I gathered all my things and put them in a small duffle bag the Crusaders gave me. I decided to leave it in the lodge. I was probably coming back to Besaid later anyways.

I walked outside and saw Lulu, Wakka and Tidus standing together. Tidus was holding a beautiful, blue sword and swinging it around.

Lulu looked at Wakka with a shocked face.

"That's the sword you gave Chappu."

"Well, he never used it. Where's Yuna?"

"We're taking the same boat as Yuna, right? Why do we gotta wait here?" Tidus asked.

"Yuna came to this village ten years ago, when the last Calm started."

I walked up beside Tidus and he smiled at me.

"The Calm?" I asked.

"Since then, she's been like a little sister to me and Lulu. But she had the talent... She became an apprentice. Now, today, she leaves as a summoner."

Lulu looked up at us, "This is our journey... We should leave together."

Yuna came out of the temple with a large suitcase in her arms.

"You really don't need all that luggage." Lulu said.

Yuna tried to intervene, "They're not really my things. They're gifts for the temples we're to visit."

Wakka crossed his arms, "This isn't a vacation, Yuna."

"I guess...I guess you're right."

She left the luggage on the temple steps and walked down to meet us.

"Okay! Off we go!"

We all walked out of the village together. I turned around and saw Yuna gazing at the village.

It must be her way of saying goodbye, I suppose. We walked up the hill and stood at the cliff where I had talked to Yuna the day before.

She stood there on the edge and looked over the village.

Lulu approached her and rubbed her back, "Take your time."

Tidus, being impatient, put his hands on his hips and said, "Let's get going, man!"

I smacked his arm and he looked at me as if it hurt. Wakka walked over to us and crossed his arms.

"We're gonna wait."

Tidus looked confused and mumbled a "Huh?"

Yuna walked towards us and took a deep breath.

"Are you ready?"

She simply nodded and we all continued to walk.

Behind me, Tidus was shaking his head and saying, "What's going on?"

I didn't know either to be honest, but I wasn't going to be rude and ask all about Yuna's personal stuff.

Along the way, we stopped at a prayer statue and everyone began to pray.

"It's an ancient custom. People leaving the island pray here for a safe trip. Chappu didn't pray that day. Said he'd miss his boat."

I found it odd, but prayed anyways. We each prayed for a good trip, and I prayed for the Bliztball game. I was growing more nervous about it the more I thought about it.

"That should do it!" Wakka said and stood up.

We continued walking down the path. I was walking side by side with Tidus until all of a sudden, Kimahri jumps down from an ancient statue and starts attacking Tidus!

Tidus threw me out of the way and the two began to slice each other with their swords until Wakka broke it up.

"That's enough!"

Wakka walked towards Tidus while Kimahri walked out of sight.

Tidus calmed himself down and said, "What's with that guy?"

Lulu walked up to us, "Kimahri Ronso, of the Ronso tribe. He's learned the fiends' way of fighting."

Tidus, frustrated, yelled back, "That's not what I meant!"

"He's another of Yuna's guardians."

Tidus cocked his head to the side and said, "Huh?"

Yuna and I both giggled at him.

"Sometimes we don't understand him either. Kimahri doesn't talk much anyway."

Wakka said an exclamatory "hmm" to no one in particular.

"But he has protected me since I was a child!"

Tidus said an inquisitive "hmm" and I laughed at the fact that they both said the same thing in a different tone.

Tidus looked at me like I was crazy, but I just stuck my tongue out at him and walked away.

We finally made our way to the beach; more specifically, the harbor, to where the boat was waiting. We all got on the boat, while being hugged by villagers.

A couple of little kids got a hold of me and wouldn't let go.

I told them I would see them again soon and they reluctantly let go and I boarded the boat.

As the boat began to move, Yuna watched the dock. You could tell they were all sad to see her leave.

They all waved and cried to her.

She did a couple of prayer gestures and with a sad face she said, "Goodbye."


	7. Chapter 7: Devastation in the Sea

Everyone's on boardthe boat heading for Kilika Port. I was standing on the deck breathing in all the salty-ness of the ocean.

I turned around to see someone with a pair of binoculars is looking out at the city ahead of us. Tidus goes up to him, does a series of somersaults and tumbles, and finally grabs the binoculars.

The man yells at Tidus, but he doesn't care. He just simply sits on the man's head and looks at everyone through the binoculars.

Soon, he looked in my direction so I flashed him a big smile and waved at him. The man took his chance and grabbed the binoculars and Tidus waved back to me.

I laughed and decided to go talk to Yuna. She was standing at the front of the boat with a big crowd of people around her.

"Word is that summoner's got noble blood!"

"I heard she's Lord Braska's daughter!"

"Ya don't say?"

I was guessing that they were all talking about Yuna. I walked over to Wakka to ask him about this Braska guy.

"Lord Braska was the summoner who defeated Sin ten years ago. Yuna's the heir to a great legacy!"

"It's tough when your father's famous."

Wakka and I both looked at Tidus in confusion.

Lulu came over and added to our conversation.

"Wakka's…a bit lacking in the imagination department."

Again, Wakka looked confused and said "Huh?"

We all laughed at him knowing it was true.

"Thanks Lulu. I'll keep that in mind."

Soon, the crowd dispersed from around Yuna and Tidus and I both went up to talk to her.

The three stood together in a kind of awkward silence.

"The wind…it's nice."

Yuna tried to make small talk with us.

"Mmmhmmm."

Tidus and I both replied the same exact thing at the same time, so we both looked at each other.

Immediately, all three of us began to laugh for no reason! Everyone on the boat looked at us like we were on drugs.

All of a sudden, Yuna stopped laughing and completely changed the subject.

"You're a Blitzball player, aren't you? From Zanarkand, right?"

Tidus had a little smirk on his face as if he didn't believe she had asked him.

"You hear that from Wakka? He doesn't believe me at all."

"But I believe you!"

Tidus muttered a small "Huh?" but he was willing to listen.

"I've heard in Zanarkand... there is a great stadium, all lit up even at night! Great Blitzball tournaments are held there and the stands are always full!"

Tidus gaped, "How do you know that?"

She smiled at him, "A man named Jecht told me. He was my father's guardian."

By now, I was feeling so lost.

I just had to butt in.

"Uh, guys? What's Zanarkand?"

Tidus looked at me unbelieving, but Yuna answered my question.

"It's an ancient city that was famous for Bliztball tournaments and having bright lights everywhere."

I shrugged my shoulders, "It kinda sounds like my home town."

She nodded, "It'll be the last stop on our pilgrimage."

"Wait, hold on a second, earlier did you say you knew a man named Jecht?"

Yuna and I both looked at the blonde.

"Yes, why?"

"My father...his name is Jecht!"

Yuna gasped, "Amazing!"

Yuna smiled at him and did the prayer gesture.

"You know, our meeting like this must be the blessing of Yevon!"

Tidus pondered it but soon turned it down.

"Sounds like him, but it can't be him."

"Why not?"

He paused, "My old man, he died. Ten years ago, off the coast of Zanarkand."

Yuna turned away to hide her sadness and I just frowned.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too. That must be awful to lose someone like that at such a young age." I added.

"He went out to sea for training one day...and never came back. And no one's seen him since then."

"Why, that's the day that Jecht came to Spira."

Tidus and I both looked at her with wide eyes.

"It's true! I first met Jecht ten years and three months ago! I remember, that was the day my father left. The date fits, doesn't it?"

Tidus fumbled with his words for a bit, "Yeah, but how would he get here?"

"You're here, are you not?"

Yuna and Tidus both smiled at each other, but I began to laugh. The way Yuna talked somehow reminded me of Yoda from Star Wars.

They both looked at me funny but before they could say anything, the book began to shake. I grabbed onto a nearby rope and tried to hold on. Tidus had grabbed Yuna by the hand and was trying to get her up but she let go.

I yelled, "Yuna!"

I let go of the rope to grab her but was beaten by Kimahri.

"Crap!"

I lost my balance and headed straight for the end of the ship until someone grabbed my arm. I looked up and saw Tidus, who was barely hanging onto the rope himself. He pulled me up and I hugged him tightly.

"Thanks!"

"No problem!"

We both look up to see a giant, gray fin emerge from the water. It was like a shark's fun, but 1,000 times bigger.

"Sin!"

All the people began to scream and run around the ship like a bunch of chickens with chopped- off heads. Some guy ran over to a harpoon and prepared to fire it.

"What do you think you're doing? Stick a harpoon in him and we'll all get dragged under!"

Wakka did have a good point.

"Sin is going for Kilika! We gotta distract it! Our families are in Kilika! Forgive us, Lady Summoner!"

Everyone looked at Yuna and she simply nodded her head.

"Wait! Oh, boy..."

I knew we were about to be rocked fiercely, so I grabbed onto the closest thing to me. Tidus must've had the same idea because we both grabbed onto each other tightly.

I watched as the man fired the harpoon into the fin of the beast and fired another one that connected to the first.

The fin wasn't about to give up. It dragged the ship with it and conjured up a lot of pod like things onto the deck of the ship. They transformed into bugs and everyone got into a fighting stance.

It was my first time to be in a real battle with other people.

We killed all of the bugs and Yuna summoned her Aeon to attack the fin. After awhile, the fin shook off the harpoons and swam away. But not after splashing the entire boat with water.

I closed my eyes to guard them from all the salt and opened to see no Tidus. I began looking frantically around the ship and saw Wakka doing the same.

Together, we dove into the water and searched.

I saw him floating, almost lifeless, many fish attacking him. Wakka threw his ball at them to shoo them away while I healed him with a potion.

At least in Spira, if you get hurt, you just use a potion. No surgery required!

Tidus opened his eyes and Wakka gave him a thumbs up.

We started to swim back to the surface, but were stopped by a big octopus looking thing. Amazingly, my guns still worked under water.

It was kinda hard to breathe after awhile but it only took us a few minutes to defeat the large creature.

We swam back up to the boat and watched as the terror of Sin struck the nearby village. A massive tidal wave approached the town while innocent people attempt to run away from it.

The entire town became engulfed in water. Everything was just sucked up into the sky, like a giant hurricane.

Above us, a whirlwind of corpses and debris is formed and also above Sin, who's floating on the surface.

As I looked out onto the water, I could feel part of my heart break.

Tears began to stream out of my eyes as I watched the horror of all the small children dying, not given the chance of fully living their lives.

"I will defeat Sin….I MUST defeat Sin."

Yuna was determined to beat this thing, and I was going to be with her 100% of the way.


	8. Chapter 8: The Sending

Our boat soon pulled into dock and we walked off onto the destroyed walkway.

The sun was setting, making the sky a purple and orange combination.

Some of the survivors met us and went straight to Yuna.

"Greetings! I am the summoner Yuna. I have come from the temple in Besaid."

"M'lady Summoner!"

"If there is no other summoner here, please allow me to perform the sending."

"Thanks be to ye!"

"Our loved ones... We feared they would become fiends!"

"Please, take me to them."

The people led Yuna off somewhere and Wakka declared that he and the Aurochs would help in town.

Tidus and I stood there in both shock in confusion, but we followed Yuna and the others to the water.

As we approached the water front, everyone was staring out to sea, weeping.

We walked up to Lulu and stood beside her.

"Uh, what's a "sending"? Are we going somewhere?"

Everyone turned around and gave Tidus death stares.

He must either have some really big balls, or he has no idea what's going on.

Lulu sighed heavily.

"You truly are clueless. Are you sure it's just your memory that's the problem?"

Tidus frowned a bit at the fact that she pretty much called him stupid.

"The dead need guidance. Filled with grief over their own death, they refuse to face their fate. They yearn to live on, and resent those still alive. You see, they envy the living. And in time, that envy turns to anger, even hate. Should these souls remain in Spira, they become fiends that prey on the living. Sad, isn't it?"

I had to admit, it did sound sad.

The sad part was the fact that all the fiends I've been killing were once humans just like me.

"The sending takes them to the Farplane, where they may rest in peace."

I seemed to understand this more than Tidus.

"Summoners do this?"

Lulu simply answered with a "hmm" and she looked out to the water.

I looked as well to see Yuna walking out onto the water. And I thought only Jesus could walk on water.

She began to twirl her staff around as the pyreflies ascended out of the caskets that were submerged under the water. It seemed as though everyone was crying.

Mothers were falling to their knees in grief over the loss of their children, husbands cried over their lost wives, and the elder ones simply bowed as Yuna kept dancing.

Soon the water shot up like a geyser and she appeared to be dancing in the air. The pyreflies reflected a rainbow of different colors off of the water. It was all so beautiful, yet haunting.

When it was all said and done, I didn't even realize I had tears streaming down my face.

Yuna walked back onto the dock and Lulu ran down to meet her.

I turned my face and wiped my eyes, afraid of having Tidus seeing me cry.

I yawned, and started walking towards a hut that I assumed we were staying at for the night. Tomorrow would be a long day, so I decided to go to sleep early.

During my slumber, I awoke and heard an interesting conversation between Yuna and Lulu.

"You want to make him your guardian?"

"I think it would be a wise decision."

"But Yuna, you barely know him. He's not fit to be a guardian."

"I think he would do just fine! You saw the way he fought Sin on the boat, did you not?"

"Well, he did do okay I suppose. But you should really think it over before you jump to conclusions."

"You are right. I'll have to sleep on it, I suppose."

"Goodnight, Yuna."

"Goodnight, Lulu."

And after that, it became silent.

_*Tidus? A guardian? This should be a fun time.*_

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of crashing waves and what sounded like construction work.

I looked around the room slowly. I was alone.

Thanks for leaving me guys.

I stood up and walked down the stairs and talked to the lady at the desk.

"Uhm, excuse me. Do you know where everyone has gone?"

She looked at me and smiled, "Yes. They said they were going to the temple. They left very early this morning and said they didn't want to disturb your slumber."

I sighed, "Okay. Thanks."

I exited the inn and was immediately greeted by Datto, one of the Aurochs.

"Hey! You awake? Cap'n Wakka's waitin' for you!"

He ran off somewhere and I walked down the boardwalk to find Wakka.

The sun was shining so bright today. Was it always like this?

I kept walking until I spotted Wakka, Tidus and a few of the Aurochs re-building what looked like a ship.

"Ah, there you are! Besaid Aurochs! Huddle!"

The Aurochs left the boat and we got into a circle to listen to Wakka.

"On to the temple, where we pray for victory!"

Everyone nodded and we walked down the boardwalk towards the woods.

Wakka tried to give us a history lesson on the way.

"High Summoner Ohalland used to live in the Kilika temple here. Yep, Lord Ohalland was once a great blitzer, you know?"

I stopped walking, "Wakka..."

"Hm?"

Tidus continued, understanding what I was going to say, "Praying for victory's all good...but is this right?"

Wakka looked taken aback, "Something wrong with enjoying blitzball?"

Tidus crossed his arms, "Is this really the time?"

Wakka went on a tangent, "This is the only time! The players fight with all their strength: the fans cheer for their favorite team. They forget pain, suffering... only the game matters! That's why blitz has been around for so long. Least that's what I think."

I sighed, "Whatever you say."

Wakka put his arm around my shoulder, "Let's play...and win! Right?"

Tidus raised his arm, "Right!"

Wakka took his arm off of me and pointed into the distance, "Temple's beyond the jungle there. Let's go!"

We walked together into the woods and saw Lulu and Yuna waiting for us. Was something wrong?

Wakka asked for all of us, "What's up?"

Lulu approached Tidus and crossed her arms.

"Yuna's saying she wants you with us."

It didn't surprise me that Lulu was upset over this. She doesn't really act like she likes Tidus. But Yuna does.

Tidus cocked his head to the side and said, "Huh?"

Yuna walked up beside Lulu, "I want to ask you to be my guardian."

Thank God Wakka stepped in, "Yuna! What? This is no time for jokes, ya? He may be a blitzball whiz kid, but up against fiends, he's a newbie."

Yuna shook her head, "Not a guardian, then... I just want him nearby."

Both Wakka and Tidus looked surprised. I wasn't surprised because I heard them talking about it last night.

"What? What do you mean?" Tidus said.

Yuna looked down at her feet, "It's just that, well..."

Lulu interjected before Yuna could embarrass herself, "We're all going to the temple anyway. Can't this wait till later?"

Yuna nodded to Lulu, then turned back to face Tidus.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

Tidus stopped her, "There's nothing to be sorry about. I'm just not really sure what's going on."

Yuna bowed, "My apologies."

She walked away and Tidus looked at me.

"She apologizes way too much."

I giggled, "That's just how she is."

We all walked forward into the woods and came across Luzzu and Gatta. A huge plant-like fiend was behind them.

Gatta stopped us, "Company, halt!"

"The fiend before us is Ochu, Lord of the Wood! We've had trouble with this one before. Remember, discretion is the better part of valor."

Tidus and I exchanged looks.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

I smiled, "Yeah! Let's get that thing!"

We both pulled out our weapons and charged at Ochu. We defeated it in less than 5 minutes.

Gatta ran up to us and said, "Whoooa!"

Luzzu inspected us, "A summoner and her guardians. Very impressive!"

Gatta raised his fist, "Sir, we should fight, too!"

"We'll get our chance soon enough."

They left as Gatta chanted a war song, "Young Crusaders gather round! We'll beat Sin into the ground!"

I laughed and continued walking into the woods, fighting fiends along the way.

I was getting a lot better at defeating fiends with my guns. I could even take some down in one hit!

I have become a total beast.

We reached stone steps at the end of the woods to endure yet another history lesson from Wakka.

"These stone steps have a history, you know?"

No one really showed interest, but he continued talking anyways.

"Yep, Lord Ohalland trained here at his peak."

Tidus and I looked up the steps. The Aurochs were stretching, and laughing a somewhat evil laugh.

Tidus got cocky, "A race, huh? Think you can beat me?"

Wakka, Tidus, and two Aurochs lined up in a row, ready to race.

Wakka looked at us girls, "Yuna, if you would."

Yuna tugged my arm, "Mind helping me?"

She winked and I got her drift.

We both went to the steps and raised our arms.

"Ready?"

We exchanged glances and charged up the steps.

Wakka yelled after us, "Hey! Hey!"

We laughed and continued running. Wakka and the Aurochs were right behind us.

I took all the strength my legs had and pushed harder until I was the first one to reach the top of the stairs.

I pumped my fists into the air, "Oh yeahh! Look who won! Time for the victory dance!"

I began dancing like crazy, but was interrupted by Datto screaming, "L-Look out!"

I turned around and saw a giant rock-like fiend coming out of the ground with tentacles flailing everywhere.

"Uh oh."

Wakka shouted, "Everyone, quick! Sinspawn!"

I whipped out my guns and soon everyone was at the top of the stairs, ready to attack the giant monster.


	9. Chapter 9: Kilika Temple

**Hey everyone! I'd just like to say thanks for all the reviews so far. :)**

**I welcome criticism and am open to all the ideas you guys give me.**

**For example, I will be adding more details to the boss battles as the story progresses and a**

**good amount of Riley's thoughts will be written as well.**

**So, thanks everyone and if you have any suggestions, feel free to message** **me!**

We all charged at the Sinspawn and struck it's huge shell.

None of our weapons were doing any good, though. Everytime we hit the shell, it would slightly open and a poisonous gas would seep out, poisoning us.

"We need to break through the shell!" Tidus yelled.

"Maybe some magic will do the trick, ya?" Wakka suggested.

Lulu tried to cast a fire spell at the shell, but one of the tentacles reached down and absorbed the magic while turning a purple color.

"Its tentacles absorb any spells cast at its body!" She announced.

I looked at the many tentacles surrounding us and striking us with Poison. Then, an idea AND its sticky finger-like tentacles hit me.

"Lulu! Burn the tentacles, not the shell!"

She did as I told her and struck one of the tentacles with a fire spell and it shriveled up before collapsing into pyreflies.

Everyone got the gist of the idea and started striking the tentacles until they all faded away.

With the tentacles gone, Lulu started slamming the shell with spells and Wakka hit it with his Silence Attack.

All of a sudden, the shell opened up to reveal the real sinspawn. It looked more like a giant maggot with a big jaw.

"Now we can hit it!" I yelled.

We each whacked away at the creature with our weapons and spells until it finally deteriorated into a huge mass of pyreflies.

Knowing the job was done, Tidus and I both collapsed on the ground.

"Yeesh!"

I agreed, "That was crazy!"

Wakka reached down to pull me up, "Sorry about that! Hoped to break you in a little slower."

Tidus stood up, "Being a guardian's tiring!"

Wakka patted him on the back, "You handled yourself pretty well. You got talent."

Tidus shrugged, "Nah. So, what are these 'sinspawn' anyway?"

Lulu answered for Wakka, "Fiends. They fall from Sin's body, and are left behind in its wake."

Wakka added to her answer, "Leave 'em alone, and Sin comes back for 'em. You gotta be quick!"

I sighed deeply and looked at the stairs ahead of us.

"Aww, more stairs? Give me a break."

Wakka looked at me, "You better get used to it. Think of it as more training for the tournament."

I groaned and looked up. Might as well just run up them, then I'd be done faster.

I sprinted up the stairs, skipping several at a time. I better be losing weight for this.

Finally, after what seemed like thousands of stairs, I reached the top and dropped to my knees.

"WHEW! Thank God, I made it."

I wasn't exactly sweating, but my leg muscles were aching terribly.

Behind me, I could hear Lulu going off about something.

"Amazing. Simply amazing. You make up one theory after another, refusing to face the simple truth. Sin didn't take Chappu anywhere. Sin crushed him and left him on the Djose shore! Your brother won't just pop back. Oh, and one more thing. No matter how much you want it, no one can take Chappu's place. No one can replace Sir Jecht, for that matter. And there's no replacement for Lord Braska, either. It's pointless to think about it, and sad."

I turned around and saw her walk up the stairs, a look of frustration on her face. Kimahri was close behind her.

I slowly stood up and was greeted by the rest of the group.

"You alright?"

I looked at Tidus, "I'm just worn out."

He chuckled, "Yeah, me too."

I turned and looked at the temple. The entrance led underground and there were giant flames burning on each side. The entire temple looked like a giant orange rock formation with colorful stones pushed into the rock.

A trio emerged from the temple adorned in purple outfits approached us.

Wakka greeted them, "You here to pray for victory, too?"

The one in the middle with red hair scoffed, "Us? Pray? Who needs to pray? The Luca Goers always win!"

Wakka crossed his arms, "Oh, yeah? Then why are you here?"

"We've been praying for some competition this year!"

What a dick.

"So what's your goal this time? You gonna 'do your best' again? Ha! It's too bad your best isn't good enough! Why even bother showing up?"

Tidus got right in his face, "This time, we play to win!"

The ginger acted like he was scared, "Oooh! Play away! Just remember even kids can play, boys."

The trio began to walk away until the ginger stopped and looked at me.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? How are you doing cutie pie?"

I gagged, "Nothing with you. That's for sure."

He began to look at me up and down.

"Oooh, looks like we have a feisty one here."

"You'll be saying that when I'm showing you up in the tournament."

He raised an eyebrow, "You play for the Besaid Aurochs? Why don't you quit and come join the Goers. I'll show you what being a winner is all about."

I spat at the ground by his feet, "In your dreams. The Aurochs are gonna win and when we do, you'll be wishing you weren't such a cocky smartass."

And with that, he and his cronies walked away.

Wakka waved at them, "See you in the finals!"

Tidus put his arm around my shoulders, "We'll beat them. We have to!"

Yuna looked confused, "You know that team?"

Tidus scowled, "Putting people down and hitting on innocent girls... They're as bad as my old man!"

Yuna intervened, "But, Sir Jecht was a kind and gentle man!"

Tidus scoffed, "Well, not my Jecht."

I was still angry. I mean, I was shaking so bad from how much that guy pissed me off.

How dare he hit on me then assume he's going to beat us?

We're going to show him BIG time what it's like to lose.

"Whoa, Riley. You need to calm down."

I looked up at Tidus, who was still holding me.

"I, I'm sorry. I just got so ticked off –"

"Don't worry about it. He doesn't deserve to talk to you like that. We'll show him up when it's game time."

I smiled and nodded my head. He let go of me and we walked into the temple together.

The inside was just like the inside of Besaid's temple. Dark, lots of statues and fire everywhere.

We watched as Wakka prayed at a statue.

"Lord Ohalland, guide our feet."

The sound of the door opening startled us all. We all looked up and saw a woman dressed in rather skimpy clothing emerge from the Cloisters with a very buff, squinty-eyed man following close behind her.

She approached our party and looked at Yuna.

"A summoner, are you?"

"My name is Yuna-from the Isle of Besaid."

"Dona."

Dona put her hands on her hips, "So, you're High Summoner Braska's daughter. That's quite a name to live up to. My, my, my... And all these people are your guardians? My, what a rabble! As I recall, Lord Braska had only two guardians. Quality over quantity, my dear. Whatever were you thinking?"  
>"I have need of only one guardian. Right, Barthello?"<p>

Barthello, the muscular man, nodded. Kimahri stepped forward and faced him.

Yuna had a look of pure agitation on her face.

Oh boy, I hope she rips Dona a new one.

"I only have as many guardians as there are people I can trust. I trust them all with my life! To have so many guardians is a joy, and an honor! Even more so than being my father's daughter. Of course, I would never think of questioning your ways, either. So, Lady Dona, I ask of you: please leave us in peace."

Oooh! You just got told!

Dona shook her head, "You do what you want. Barthello, we're leaving."

They left the temple quickly and Yuna sighed deeply.

I walked over to her and hugged her.

"Thanks Yuna."

She hugged me back, "Don't thank me. That's just the way I feel."

We broke the hug and entered the door that leads to the Cloister of Trials.

Wakka pumped his fist, "The fayth is below. Let's do it!"

Tidus looked at us confused, "The 'fayth'?"

Lulu ignored him, "But first, the Cloister of Trials. Kimahri? Wakka? Riley? Ready?"

The three of us nodded.

Yuna did the prayer, "Strength, everyone!"

We all stepped onto an elevator-like platform and Kimahri pushed Tidus off.

Tidus exclaimed, "Hey, what gives?"

Lulu answered, "You're not a guardian yet."

"We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?"

The platform started moving and we descended into the ground.

Above us, I could hear Tidus yell, "Oh, sure! Soon like 'tomorrow' soon, I bet!"

I laughed to myself. Poor Tidus.

I wonder if he'll actually take up Yuna's offer. I sure hope he does.

The platform stopped moving and we all walked into the Cloisters.

After moving spheres around, gathering prizes and extinguishing the fire doors, we made it to the Chamber of the Fayth.

Yuna walked inside and we all waited outside for her.

I sat on the floor and picked at my fingernails.

My fingerless gloves were beginning to get dirty.

All of a sudden, the door opened and in walked Tidus.

I wasn't surprised to see him here.

Wakka and Lulu ran up to stop him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Tidus held up his hands to defend himself, "It was Dona and that big muscle head man!"

Lulu sighed in frustration, "Yuna will be the one to suffer the consequences!"

"What consequences?"

Wakka whispered harshly, "She could be excommunicated!"

They both went to their original waiting spots and Tidus stood there, confused.

I looked at him and smiled.

He smiled back and walked over to Wakka to talk to him.

"Just wait."

"So, what's in there anyway?"

Wakka looked at him, "The fayth, remember?"

Tidus rolled his eyes, "Oh yeah, that thing. Riiiight."

Lulu butted into the conversation.

"The fayth are people who gave their lives to battle Sin. Yevon took their souls, willingly given from their still-living bodies."

"Huh?"

She continued, "Now they live forever, trapped in statues. But when a summoner beckons, the souls of the fayth emerge once again. That's what we call an aeon."

Tidus looked astonished, "All that in this room? S-So what's Yuna doing in there?"

Wakka answered, "She prays with all her heart for a way to defeat Sin."

Just then, Yuna exited the Chamber of the fayth and fell on her knees. Lulu, Wakka and I ran to her side.

We stood her up and when she felt alright, we left.

When we were leaving, I glanced at Tidus. He looked confused, sad and almost sick.

Outside the temple, a group of people surrounded Yuna and were praising her.

I walked over to Tidus and saw that he had the same look on his face.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I...I don't know."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

He lifted his head, "To scream real loud."

I giggled, but I knew he was being serious.

All of a sudden, Tidus grabs his head and screams real loud. Everyone turns around and looks at us.

I looked at him and laughed.

"Feel any better?"

He sighed, "A little bit."

"Wanna do it again? I'll scream too."

He looked at me and smiled.

"Nah. I think I'll be okay. Thanks, though."

Suddenly, he walked over and hugged me.

"Uh, it was no problem."

He broke the hug and we all left the temple.

We all made our way back to the port and boarded the boat.

I ended up buying some string from an old lady to make a bracelet with.

Hey, the boat ride was gonna get boring. I had to entertain myself somehow.

We all met at the deck and Wakka addressed us.

"Off to Luca at last! The matches start soon as we get there, so rest up on the way, ya?"

We all boarded the ship and set sail for Luca. My nerves were getting worse as the time flew by.


	10. Chapter 10: The Jecht Shot

It was nighttime.

Everyone was either in their beds sleeping or on the deck talking or just hanging out.

I was sitting on the dock's edge alone, making my bracelet.

I was making it in Auroch colors to support our team. It was looking really nice.

A few feet away, I could hear Yuna giggling about something the Luca Goers said.

They all pissed me off. I just wanted to be alone for now.

I was working on the last couple knots of my bracelet whenever I heard Tidus enter the conversation.

"What are you all talking about?"

Bickson, the ginger, looked at him.

"Who are you supposed to be?"

One of the Goers spoke up, "Ah, I remember him. Guy from Kilika."

Bickson ignored him and gazed at Yuna, "Hmm?"

What a horn dog.

"You know, one of the Besaid Aurochs. Said somethin' about winning the cup."

Bickson looked at Tidus, "Oh, right. You're that idiot."

Idiot? Oh boy, you're in for it.

Yuna and I both snapped, "Don't call him that!"

I walked over and stood beside Tidus.

Bickson protested, "But he is an idiot. They don't got what it takes to win the cup."

Tidus "Well, they do now that I'm here!"

I butted in, "Yeah! Me too!"

Yuna nodded, "Yes, they will win! He used to be the star player of the Zanarkand Abes!"

The Goers began to chuckle to themselves.

"Yeah, as if anyone lived in those ruins."

Yuna argued, "It's not ruins, there's a big city there! There is!"

Everyone stared at her. She wasn't letting this go.

Tidus scratched the back of his neck, "I got too close to Sin and-"

Yuna kept going, "There is a city, really!"

She turned her back to all of us and looked out to the sea.

Bickson spoke up, "Right. Whatever your Ladyship says."

They all walked away and I scoffed.

"The nerve of some people."

Tidus nodded at me and went over to calm Yuna down.

I sighed and went back to my spot to finish up my bracelet.

I could hear Tidus and Yuna talking about Zanarkand.

Yuna was practically begging him to take her there.

"Oooh, I'd love to see it someday. Blah blah blah."

He'd probably take her too. I wish he would take me though…

"Hey! Whatcha doing?"

I looked up and saw the blonde admiring my bracelet.

"Oh, this? It's just a bracelet I'm making to support the Aurochs and stuff."

Why did I just become so nervous?

"It looks really cool."

I smiled, "Thanks."

"Mind if I join you?"

Oh crap, what do I say?

"Sure."

Great job, Riley.

He sat down beside me and watched me finish up the bracelet.

Above us, we could hear Wakka and Lulu get into a heated conversation.

"Well? Say something. You'll take responsibility?"

"Relax! He's bound to know someone in Luca."

"And if not?"

"He could always join a blitz team. Anyhow, it's better than just leaving him in Besaid!"

"What? Just leaving him in Luca?"

"What do you want me to do?"

She paused, "Yuna wants to make him a guardian."

Wakka groaned, "Oh yeah, geez... There's that too, eh?"

"And whose fault is that?"

Wakka shot back, "Not mine!"

I elbowed Tidus, "You know they're talking about you."

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I know."

Wakka continued, "It is mine, huh? Why do you think she wants to make him a guardian, anyway?"

Lulu answered, "Because he's Sir Jecht's son."

"Oh, right. Wait, you sure 'bout that? He's really Sir Jecht's son?"

Lulu sighed, "It's hard to say, but Yuna seems to believe so."

"Okay."

"'Okay?' Okay? That's all you have to say?"

"Well, yeah, I mean…He's gotta decide for himself, ya? Well, him and Yuna, I guess."

'_Him and Yuna? What? Are they a married couple now?'_

"You're right, for once."

"Ahem!"

Lulu ignored him, "I wonder which is best...Why don't you tell him he should?"

"Should what?"

"Become Yuna's guardian."

"Why me?"

"Because Yuna can't."

"Why not?"

"He hates his father-what he was, what he did. Do you really think she can possibly say to him...  
>'I want you to be my guardian, like your father was to mine?'"<p>

Tidus whispered in my ear, "It's true."

I shivered. Not only because it was getting cold, but because of how he whispered in my ear.

"Aren't you being over-sensitive?"

Lulu sighed heavily.

Wakka gave in, "All right, all right. I'll try talking to him after the tournament."

Lulu sure did know how to get her way.

"Be discreet."

"I know. It's his decision."

He paused for a second, "He doesn't like his father?"

"Apparently. He told Yuna as much."

"Hating your own father, huh? Sounds like a luxury to me. I don't even remember my parents. Can't say how I feel about 'em."

Lulu sounded sad, "I...I was five then, so I remember mine a little."

Wakka punched the floor, "Damn it! Sin just takes everything away from us."

And after that, I couldn't hear anything else.

I finished the bracelet and tied it around my wrist.

I got up and walked to the front of the deck, Tidus following close behind.

I spotted a bliztball and threw it to Tidus.

"Mind showing me one of your famous moves?"

He smiled, "Sure thing."

He kicked the ball; it bounced off the pole on the front of the ship, bounced it back off of his chest and spiked it like a volleyball. He jumped into the air, spun around and kicked the ball far out into the sea.

My jaw dropped, as did his. He began to laugh and threw his fist into the air.

"The best? Yeah, right."

"That…was amazing! You need to teach me how to do that!"

"Us too!" We turned around and saw the Aurochs and Wakka standing behind us.

"Whoa! What was that called?"

"Doesn't have a name. Anyone can do it if they try."

Wakka handed him another ball, "Show us one more time, ya?"

As requested, he did the move again and another ball became lost to the sea.

"Okay, you really need to teach me that move so I can kick the Goers' butts with it tomorrow."

He laughed, "Okay, well first you need to stand with your feet like this and put your arms like this…"

He moved my arms around to show me how they were supposed to go.

"Now, kick the ball."

I did as told and kicked the ball hard so it bounced off the pole and headed straight towards my face.

"Quick! Kick it!"

I lifted my leg up high and kicked the ball into the air and bounced it back up with my head. I head butted the ball onto the ground by the pole.

"Now punch it!"

I punched the ball and it hit the nearby steps.

"Now you gotta jump and spin around!"

I gave my legs an extra bounce and jumped into the air. I spun around and timed it just right so that my foot would make contact with the ball.

I slowed down and kicked the ball with all my strength.

It flew out into the sea, just like Tidus' balls did earlier.

I came back down onto the deck and looked at Tidus.

"How was that?"

He didn't respond. He just stood there with his mouth hanging wide open.

I waved my hand in front of his face, "Hellooooo? Anyone home?"

He blinked and shook his head.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry about that. I totally spaced out."

I smiled, "It's okay. Did I do the move well enough?"

"Of course! It was fantastic! It was even better than mine."

I blushed, "Thanks. But I don't think I'm nearly as good as you are."

"Don't be silly. You're great. We're definitely taking home the cup tomorrow."

He hugged me tightly and I hugged back.

He was so warm compared to my cold skin.

I never wanted to let go.

TIDUS' POV

I didn't wanna let go of her.

She felt so cold; this could be an excuse to warm her up.

She really was a cute girl. Fun to be around too.

I was really glad I got to meet her and spend this time with her.

I feel like I can talk to her about anything. Maybe I should accept Yuna's offers of being a guardian just so I can be with Riley longer.

What kind of selfish person am I?

One who's falling for a perfect girl, that's who.

I slowly let go of her and looked into her deep, brown eyes.

I could swear I almost started to lean in whenever I felt something hit the back of my head.

I let her go and gripped my head.

"What was that for?"

"Show me that move again!"

I sighed and said, "Yo!"

Riley just laughed and stood back to watch me do the move yet again. I'm glad she's the supportive type.

Maybe I could take her back to Zanarkand with me and take her to all my games.

Ha! Yeah, as if there's even a stadium there anymore.

Oh well, I'll think of something.


	11. Chapter 11: Looking for Auron

The next morning, I was woken up by someone jumping on my bed and the sunshine that was visible even in the cabin.

"Riley, wake up! You gotta see this!"

I slowly opened my eyes and saw the shaggy haired blizter jumping up and down, waiting for me to get up.

I groaned and turned over to go back to sleep, but Tidus wasn't allowing that.

"Riley, c'monnnn. We're here and you need to see it!"

I sighed heavily and stood up before Tidus slung me over his shoulder and charged out onto the dock.

"Tidus, I don't even have my shoes on and my hair looks like a rat's nest!"

"This will just take a second, then you can go get ready."

I sighed in defeat as he put me down and pointed out to sea. I gasped at the sight.

There was a giant stadium in the shape of a sphere, and the streets were packed with people of every race. The sky was the perfect shade of blue, with white fluffy clouds floating carelessly. Seagulls were flying around and other boats along with ours were pulling into the many docks.

I looked at Tidus. He had the biggest smile on his face. It was the same look that he had when I first saw him on the TV at my house. It only made me think that he isn't real.

_'Stop thinking about that and loosen up, Riley. It's game day!'_

I shook my head and listened closely. I could hear the announcers clear from our boat.

"Ah, over there! The ships carrying the players are arriving now! This would be dock number 2."

I realized we were at the dock, so I ran back to my cabin, put on my shoes, some make up and fixed my hair.

I grabbed all my things and walked back onto the dock to see the spectators awaiting us.

"All the way from Kilika, it's the Kilika Beasts! igh Summoner Ohalland used to play for them, a big name to live up to. Their hometown was recently attacked by Sin. Isn't that right, Jimma?"

"Yes, Bobba. They're going to be pulling out all the stops to try and bring back the cup this year."

I chuckled. Jimma and Bobba? How classic.

"Exciting, isn't it, folks? Our next team off the ramp is... Well, well, well! If it isn't the Besaid Aurochs! They're a living, breathing, statistical impossibility! I've never seen a team this bad! That's right! In twenty-three years they've never made it past the first round! Only a few die-hard fans are in the audience today."

"Best of lucky to them, and a safe journey back to Besaid."

"Right, Jimma. Moving right along, our next team is... Here they are, folks! Our very own Luca Goers! They've got power! They've got speed! They've got teamwork! They're an all-around first-class team! And they're back home in Luca!"

I sneered at the sight of Bickson and his cronies. We were so going to pound them into the ground.

Without a doubt, they are the favorite this year, Bobba. And after the way they dominated last year, it'd take a miracle for them to lose today."

"You can say that again, Jimma. Look at the crowd, folks! Look at the crowd! Looks like all of Luca has turned out to cheer the Goers on! They know, I know, and you know, folks! The Luca Goers are number one!"

Okay, out of the two I think Jimma would be my favorite. He doesn't brag so much on how good they are like Bobba does.

Wakka saw that both Tidus and I were pretty mad.

"It's like this every year, ya? Don't let it bother you."

Next thing I knew, Tidus had a megaphone in his hand and was standing on the cargo boxes behind us.

"Stop right there, Goers!"

Everyone froze and stared at Tidus. What was he doing?

"You guys are smilin' now, but not for long! Cause this year, us Aurochs are taking the cup!"

Tidus did some sort of evil laughter and everyone continued on with their day after giving him glares and confusing looks.

I was laughing so hard that I slid down onto the ground and was holding my stomach.

Tidus climbed down and helped me back up after I settled down.

Wakka did a face palm motion, "What in Yevon's name were you doing up there?"

"We sure stood out, though!" Datto said.

"We were on the sphere!" Letty added.

"We were?" Datto asked.

Before anyone could answer, a couple ran by and loudly announced to the entire world that Maester Mike had arrived.

Tidus crossed his arms, "What's up now?"

Yuna got a smile on her face, "Maester Mika has arrived, that's what!"

Tidus was confused as always, "Mika? Maester?"

"Maester Mika is the leader of all the peoples of Spira. He's come all the way from Bevelle. The tournament is being held to honor his fifty years as maester." Lulu explained.

"Fifty years? Shouldn't he be, uh, retired by now?"

Wakka smacked Tidus on the back of the head, "Hey! Mind your mouth, now."

"Let's all go see him!" Yuna suggested.

We all left the dock and went to the next one over to see a huge boat pull in. I tried jumping up and down, but it was no use.

"Can't see a thing!" Tidus and I both said.

Wakka lifted his finger up, "Shhhh!"

Some musicians nearby started playing loud, joyous music, like you'd hear when the king enters the room. Several people started getting off the boat, one of them looked especially weird.

He had strange, blue hair and his entire body was covered in what looked like tattoos.

People in the crowd started whispering among themselves.

"That's a Guado, right?"

"Who could it be?"

"Isn't that... Maester Seymour?"

The man they called Seymour faced the boat, bent down, and did the prayer gesture, as well as everyone else in the crowd but me and Tidus.

An older man with white hair and a hunchback stepped off of the boat and spoke.

"People of Spira, I thank you for your generous welcome. Rise, Maester Seymour. And all of you as well."

Everyone stood up and gazed at their leader.

"I present to you... the son of Maester Jyscal Guado, who departed for the Farplane a fortnight past. As some of you already know, he has been officially ordained a maester of Yevon."

Seymour spoke and his voice gave me chills, "I am Seymour Guado. I am honored to receive the title of maester. In life, my father Jyscal worked to foster friendship between man and Guado. I vow to carry on his legacy, and to fulfill my duties as maester to the best of my abilities."

Everyone bowed again and Wakka nudged Tidus and me.

"You, two! Bow your heads!"

Mika and his followers began to leave, but not before Seymour stared at Yuna. And not just a friendly stare, like a full on creeper stare. I don't like this guy at all, and I just met him 2 minutes ago.

Wakka smiled, "Really psyches you up, ya? All right! Last meeting before the match! Hustle!"

We walked from the docks towards the stadium, our locker rooms were below the stadium along with another door that led directly to the water filled sphere.

People were buying last minute tickets and getting in their seats to see all the action that was occuring in less than an hour.

Tidus and I were outside of the locker room door talking to Yuna and Lulu, until we walked back inside to see the Aurochs waiting in anticipation.

Once we opened the door, they all rushed over to us, but sat back down once they saw that we weren't Wakka.

"Where's Wakka?" I asked.

"At the match-up draws."

"We had to play the Goers in the first match last year." Letty explained.

"The year before that, and the one before that, too!" Jassu said.

Keepa shook his head, "Well, we would've lost to anyone anyway."

I was about to protest whenever the door swung open, revealing Wakka with a huge smile on his face.

"Cap'n Wakka!"

"We're playin' the Al Bhed Psyches first. If we win, we're in the finals!"

No one knew how to respond at first.

"That's right, we got seeded! Two wins and we're the champions!"

We all started cheering and high-fiving each other.

"We so got this, you guys!" I said.

We all started preparing for the game whenever Lulu and Yuna walked into the locker room.

"There you are!" Yuna shouted.

She walked over to Tidus and I and spoke again.

"Someone said they saw Sir Auron in a café!"

Tidus was shocked, "Au-Auron?"

"Yes, Sir Auron! Let's go find him!" She said.

"Yeah! Come with us, Riley!" He looked at me.

How could I say no to that face?

"Okay, let's go!" I declared.

We started walking out the door whenever Wakka stopped us.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! The game starts like real soon! C-Come back quick, ya?"

"Hey, we'll be back." Tidus assured him.

Wakka sighed heavily, "Yeah, okay."

Tidus walked in front of him, "Hey, Wakka. You're stiff, man."

Wakka groaned and grabbed his face.

"No, no, not your face. Just breathe out, relax. Like this. Just breathe, yeah!"

We all laughed as Wakka took breaths and Tidus was trying to keep him from grabbing his face.

Yuna, Tidus, Kimahri and I walked out of the locker room and down the hallway.

"Maybe now we can find Sir Jecht." Yuna said.

"Huh? How?" Tidus asked.

"Sir Auron was also my father's guardian. So, he might know where Sir Jecht is. Let's go now!"

I was surprised at how excited Yuna was to see this guy. She ran out of the stadium and out into the streets, Kimahri following close behind.

"Jeez, she's really excited isn't she?" I asked.

Tidus chuckled, "Yeah, she is."

I followed Kimahri out of the stadium, but noticed that Tidus was trying to talk to some other blitz players. They looked Al Bhed, so I just though I'd let him figure out on his own that they can't understand him.

I walked outside and looked at the bright blue sky. The streets were filled with people celebrating and placing bets on the upcoming games.

I found Yuna and Kimahri and looked around to find Tidus.

"It's so packed out here. He probably got lost in the crowd somewhere." I said.

All of a sudden I heard someone yell my name, followed by a loud whistle.

I turned around and saw Tidus running towards me.

"Did you whistle for me?" I asked.

"Yeah! I figured since it's so crowded and all, if we lose each other, just whistle. I'll come running."

I placed my fingers in my mouth to mimic him, "Like this?"

I blew air through my fingers and the high pitched whistle flew out of my mouth and into the air. A lot of people turned and looked at me because of how loud and distracting it was.

Tidus laughed, "Yeah, just like that. But for now, let's try to keep up with Yuna together."

I smiled, "Okay."

We walked down the boardwalk type road, pushing through the crowd and into a big plaza.

"Whoa! This is a pretty big town!" Tidus exclaimed.

"Luca is the second largest city in Spira." Yuna explained.

"I thought every town was little...you know, like Besaid and Kilika."

"Towns don't usually get bigger than that. Because when a lot of people start to gather..."

"Sin?" I asked.

Yuna replied with a nod.

"What about Luca? It's safe here?"

"It's not any different, but the stadium is here. The Crusaders fight to protect it with all their strength."

"They protect the stadium?"

"Blitzball's really the only entertainment that we have. Spira's a little short on fun these days." She said.

Tidus crossed his arms, "Whoa! Talk about pressure!"

"That's right! Are Vegas and Zanarkand like this, too?"

I was shocked that Yuna asked me about Vegas. She usually just wants to know all about Zanarkand.

"Well, there are more buildings. All tall ones and cramped together." Tidus started.

"Vegas is the same way, but with bright, flashing lights and huge water fountains that shoot up into the sky."

"They must be so tall! And with so many bright lights! Don't you ever get dizzy?"

Tidus and I both laughed and she smiled at us.

"Let's go find Sir Auron!"

We walked into a small café in the plaza and looked around inside. Of course I had no idea what Auron looked like, so I let Tidus and Yuna search.

Tidus looked around for a moment, then sighed.

"Auron's not here."

Yuna let out a slight "Hmm" sound, then walked inside to talk to some of the locals. I just stood beside Tidus until a few gasps were heard throughout the room.

We both looked over and saw Kimahri standing in front of two other ronsos. And I thought Kimahri was big! These two others were at least 2 feet taller than him and had more muscle.

One of them had bright yellow hair and dark gray skin, while the other had light purple skin with gray hair to match. Both ronsos had full horns sprouting from their foreheads.

The one with the gray hair spoke to Kimahri in an angry tone.

"Why not talk, Kimahri? Not see Yenke for ten years! Say something! Kimahri forget Yenke? Forget Biran?"

The one I assumed was named Biran spoke next, "Leave Kimahri, Yenke. Kimahri is small Ronso. Kimahri so small can't see Yenke and Biran's faces."

The two kept taunting Kimahri as he simply stood there and took it.

"Kimahri forget Ronso friends? We taught you much at time of horn-molt! Biran taught Kimahri to be strong Ronso."

"Maybe taught too much." Biran said.

Biran gave Kimahri a light shove on the shoulder, and Tidus got in the action.

"Take 'em on!" He urged the blue ronso.

Yenke began to laugh until Kimahri gave him a good punch in the jaw, which sent him tumbling to the floor. All the spectators gasped at what Kimahri had done.

"Take it outside! The tournament's starting, you hear?"

Biran punched Kimahri in defense for his friend, completely ignoring the manager of the café.

Tidus gasped and looked at me, "The game!"

"Oh shit!"

We all looked at the TV and watched as Maester Mika gave a speech to the crowd and players.

"Today, on this glorious day, players from all over Spira have assembled here... to participate on this great contest of bravery, skill, and strength. All of these fine teams, equally renowned, deserve to win the cup today. Such is the nature of this contest. Let us, the spectators, play our role accordingly: Let us sing to the glory of the winners, and applaud equally the valor of the defeated. Contestants, may Yevon be with you."

He did the prayer gesture to the applauding crowd and I crossed my arms.

"Such a good sport." I mumbled.

I looked around for Yuna to see if we could go back to the stadium, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Uh oh..."

"What is it?" Tidus asked.

"Yuna's gone!"

I ran up to Kimahri and pulled him away from his fight.

"Kimahri, Yuna's gone!"

He looked at me in surprise as Biran launched another punch.

"Save it for later, big boy!" I shouted.

The three of us ran outside and looked frantically around for the summoner. We had no luck, but we did find Lulu.

"Where in Spira have you been!" She asked.

"Huh?"

"Yuna's been kidnapped by the Al Bhed Psyches. In exchange for her safe return, they want the Aurochs to lose." She explained.

"What!" Tidus and I both shouted.

"If they're only blitzball players, I doubt they'd do anything drastic. But we shouldn't take chances. Let's go get her."

I stepped forward, "I'm going. It's partly my fault for not watching her and we gotta get her back."

"I'm going too! This will be no problem! They're telling the Aurochs to throw the game, as if they needed to! I mean, how good a team can they be?" Tidus said.

"Wakka said the same thing. He'll take care of the game. We should go get Yuna. The Al Bhed boat is in dock 4. Let's go."

We all ran towards the dock. The game had already started and I was letting my coach down for not being there.

_'Hang on, Wakka. We'll get her back in no time.'_


	12. Chapter 12: Kidnapped

We ran to the docks, fighting machina along the way.

"The Al Bhed were expecting us." Lulu said.

We easily fought our way through the rusty looking robots. We stopped along the way to dock 4 to look at the game on one of the TVs. The score was tied, 2-2.

We listened closely as the announcers filled us in on the details of the match.

"The Aurochs are keeping the score tied with some excellent defense, folks!"

We watched as Wakka caught the ball and looked around for someone to throw it to. 3 Al Bhed men surrounded him and one of them punched him right in the stomach.

"Ow! He'll feel that one in the morning!" Bobba said.

"But the referee doesn't call the foul! Wakka's taking a real beating out there."

I frowned. "Poor Wakka."

"Still in there!" Tidus said.

Lulu scoffed, "He won't last. Wakka's always like that."

"Ouch." Tidus and I both replied.

Lulu simply shook her head at us. "Let's go."

We continued running down the dock until we spotted a boat pulling away from land. In an instant, we all jumped on board the ship and the Al Bhed sent out a large machina to send us tumbling into the sea.

The battle began and I noticed a large cane on the side of the ship.

_'This could be used to our advantage.' _I thought.

I held up one of my guns and shot at the crane, giving it a jolt of energy. But it wasn't enough.

"Riley's got the right idea. We have to hit the crane!" Lulu shouted.

It seems the machina isn't like the others that jab you with their spear like arms. This one was big and had many little legs to hold it up and attacked by shooting out blitzballs.

Luckily for Tidus and I, we were used to being hit by balls in practice. So I just dodged the balls and continued shooting the crane.

We all attacked the crane until it started up and was put into motion by Tidus. The crane began to move towards the machina and grabbed ahold of the top of the electric beast.

The crane completely tore the top of the machina off, allowing us to attack it with ease.

We struck the machina with all our forces and it fell apart on the deck of the ship.

A door on the ship opened up behind the machina remains and Yuna popped out, a man slumped on the ground behind her.

Lulu ran up to her and hugged her tightly.

"I hope you hurt them." She said.

Yuna giggled, "A little."

After Lulu let her go, I ran up to her and nearly tackled her.

"I'm so sorry that I let you get kidnapped! I should've never let you out of my sight."

She hugged me back, "No, don't apologize. I wandered away whenever I should've stayed with you guys."

"I don't care what you say. It was my fault and I'm sorry." I said.

She shook her head to disapprove, but I had already let her go and observed the deck.

I went off into my own little world. I sat on the edge of the boat and thought to myself.

_'I wonder if anyone realizes I'm missing. Or is time even moving? Would it still be 5 o' clock in the morning when I go back? Will I ever go back?'_

I stopped thinking and overheard Yuna saying that she has Al Bhed lineage. Apparently her mom was Al Bhed and her dad wasn't. Makes sense.

I stood up and gazed out to sea.

The ship had stopped moving, so I was guessing that the Al Bhed had given up. I wondered how Wakka was doing...

I gasped, "The game!"

Everyone looked at me with wide eyes.

Lulu casted a fire spell that shot up into the sky and we ran off of the boat and to the nearest TV in the docks.

We watched in shock as Wakka shot the ball and scored with nearly 2 seconds left on the clock.

"Gooooooooooooooalllll!"

I jumped up and down and screamed in delight. I was so proud of the boys!

"We did it! We're in the finals!" Yuna said excitedly.

"Not the most...graceful win. If it was Chappu, he'd still be standing."

We all looked at Lulu with harsh looks on our faces. She really wasn't being fair to Wakka.

"Hey, aren't you being just a little unfair?" Tidus asked. I loved how he could put some attitude into his voice just like a girl can.

Not a lot of guys can get it right.

Lulu put her hands on her hips, "Excuse me?"

"I know I could never take Chappu's place. You're the one who told Wakka that, right, Lulu?And I don't think Wakka would ever try to take Chappu's pl-"

Lulu cut him off, "You don't want to finish that sentence."

Tidus covered his mouth and shook his head to say no. Yuna and I giggled at Lulu's anger issues. She really needs to work on that.

We walked back to the Auroch's locker room and saw Wakka lying on one of the benches, his team mates surrounding him.

"You sure you're all right, Cap'n?" One of them asked.

Wakka sat up on the bench and tried to throw one of the balls, but groaned and laid back down.

The ball rolled over to my feet and I kicked it up into my hands.

The entire team looked over at me and greeted me with delight. Tidus came in with the rest of the crew right behind him as everyone patted me on the back and high fived me.

Everyone moved past me and went to Lady Yuna.

Meanwhile, I started reading the rule books and refreshing my memory on how to succeed in the game.

It would be starting any minute now, and I was getting more and more nervous. I kept going over the plays in my head, praying that I wouldn't mess up. I also prayed that I could go home soon, despite the fact that Tidus and I were getting closer each day.

_'But he isn't real! He's just a handsome, cocky, perfect, fictional game character.'_

I felt someone touch my shoulder and I turned around to see Tidus standing behind me with a reassuring smile on his face.

"You're gonna do fine. We're taking the cup back to the island as long as I'm in the game."

I sighed, "I hope you're right."

Wakka stood up and told us all to gather 'round. The Aurochs assembled and Tidus and I joined them.

"I got something to tell you boys... and Riley." I smiled and nodded.

"After this game... I'm retiring. I promised myself this would be my last tournament. Win or lose, I'm quitting blitzball. But you know... Since we're here, we might as well win!"

Everyone pumped their fists into the air, "Yeah!"

"A-Am I on the bench?" Botta asked.

"For the moment, yes." He said.

He stepped towards me and Tidus and placed his arms around our shoulders.

"I'm gonna be on the bench with ya. These two are going in the game."

I looked over at Tidus and caught him smiling at me. He quickly looked away and I did the same to hide my blushing cheeks.

"All right, boys, let's win this one! Let's make the Goers goners!" Wakka shouted.

"Let's blitz!" I shouted as we ran out of the locker room and into the hallway. Before we got in a huddle, I looked back to see Lulu talking to Wakka.

I smirked to myself. Those two make a good couple.

I looked back into the huddle and spoke to the team,

"All right boys, what are we gonna do?"

They all put their hands in the middle on top of mine and shouted, "Win!"

"For Cap'n Wakka!" We shouted in unison.

We all headed for the door that lead into the sphere. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. It felt as though everyone was counting on me. I couldn't let them down.


	13. Chapter 13: Game Time

Both teams swam out onto the field and we met in the middle. Bickson had enough nerve to swim towards Tidus and shake his hand, but pulled it back at the last minute.

The other Goers laughed and I scowled deeply. The ugly ginger turned to me and winked before swimming away. I was on fire.

Everyone got in their positions, and the game started off with the ball flying upwards and the Goers getting possession of it.

Abus had ahold of the ball and I swam as fast as I could to catch him off guard. I tackled him hard and grabbed onto the ball.

I looked around and saw Jassu nearby, so I threw the ball to him and he caught it.

He passed it to Tidus, who swam close enough to the goal before getting caught by three Goers. He was going to shoot it but decided to pass it to me instead.

He passed it to me and I prepared myself to catch it. Instead of doing that, I fumbled the ball and Bickson grabbed ahold of it.

I mentally kicked myself.

_'Way to go, Riley. The game's all over now!'_

Tidus swam over to me and patted me on the back. We looked at each other and both followed Bickson as he headed for the Auroch's goal post.

We both caught him off guard and tackled him pretty hard. He fumbled the ball and Tidus got ahold of it.

He passed it to Letty, who swam back towards the middle of the field. He passed it to Datto, who managed to shoot the ball and score!

We were winning the game!

"And the Besaid Aurochs are the first to score! They just might win this game, folks."

I smirked, knowing that we were taking home the cup.

The game continued in the same manner as before. The Goers had the ball at one point, but we stole it right back and Tidus used the Jecht Shot to score us another point.

One time, I had the ball and was swimming towards the goal, but Balgerda had to come over and tackle me. Hard.

I fell backwards and fumbled the ball, allowing her to grab it and pass it to Bickson to shoot. The score was now 2-1.

I scowled as Bickson swam past me and smiled. What a douche.

There was only a minute left in the first half, so we beefed up the defense and tried to keep the Goers from scoring again.

Sadly, that didn't happen.

They scored with seconds left to go, leaving us tied.

"And that's the first half!" I heard one of the announcers say.

Everyone swam back to their locker rooms and the spectators left to either get food or use the restroom. Classic halftime events.

Once inside the locker room, I sat on the bench and gasped for air. I didn't realize how long I'd been holding my breath!

"Zone defense, boys! Stop those Goers!" Wakka shouted.

We all nodded and said, "Cap'n!"

"What about me?" Tidus said.

"Just get the ball and shoot like crazy!" He responded.

Tidus nodded and looked at me, "Riley. You okay?"

I looked up at him and smiled, "I'm all right. Lemme at those Goers!"

He grinned back at me and grabbed my hand, pulling me up to stand.

"Let's get 'em!" I shouted.

"Goers are going down!" Datto shouted.

"Yeah!"

"Shoot like crazy!" Tidus shouted.

"Yeah!" Everyone responded.

We all hustled out of the locker room and back out onto the field, meeting the Goers once more.

The clock started up again as the ball sprung into the air and I caught it. I swam towards the goal and handed it off to Botta, who was now in the game.

He swam away with the ball, but lost it to Abus.

And the game continued like that for at least 3 minutes. We basically played hot potato with the ball.

I looked up into the stands and saw everyone was getting impatient. I even noticed that Tidus was floating on his back, paying no attention to the game.

All of a sudden, the crowd began to chant.

"Wakka...Wakka...Wakka..."

The chanting was getting louder and louder. Every player on the field stopped and listened to it.

I looked over to see Tidus swimming out of the sphere. I smiled, knowing exactly what he was doing.

The game was put on hold for a moment and when the crowd started screaming and clapping uncontrollably.

"I wonder what's happening? The crowd is going wild!" Bobba said.

I looked over toward the entrance to the sphere and saw the orange haired man swim my way. Everyone on the team gathered around him for a strategy that he worked out with his hands.

With just a minute left to go, the ball shot upwards and Bickson caught it. Wakka caught up to him and stole the ball away from him, leaving him gasping for air on the floor of the sphere pool.

Wakka swam towards me and was confronted by 2 Goers. He broke through them both and threw the ball to Jassu, who in a spur of the moment, threw the ball all the way across the field.

I gasped and swam to catch it and beat Balgerda to it. I tackled through her and saw I had an open shot to the goal.

It was me vs. the goalie now.

I heard the crowd chant my name and smirked at the goalie, who was waiting for me to shoot.

I tossed the ball up, and jumped up to bounce it higher with my nose. It shot up in the air above the water, as did I. The ball came back down and I did a back flip in the process.

My foot met the ball and I used all my power to kick the ball down into the water and into the goal.

I did a cannon ball back into the water and watched as the goalie missed the ball and it flew into the goal post.

The final buzzer sounded through the entire stadium and the crowd roared.

"Did you see that, folks? That incredible move that scored the final point for the championship game done by the only female on the team! The Besaid Aurochs have won!"

The Aurochs surrounded me and picked me up, spinning me around and high fiving me. Tidus even came back into the water and gave me a huge bear hug.

I looked back and saw the Goers sulking as the left the field. I smiled even bigger whenever I saw Bickson limping out of the sphere.

Everything was perfect, until the crowd broke out into terror filled screams and the stadium become flooded with fiends.

I looked around and pulled out my guns.

_'Time to fight.'_ I thought.

I was joined by Tidus and Wakka and we fought our way through waves of water fiends. Most of them were dead in one hit.

We were trying to get out of the sphere, but they just kept coming! I wasn't sure how much longer my lungs could take it without sweet oxygen.

Thankfully, we finished off the last of them and exited the sphere, running up into the stands where the rest of our crew was.

The three of us ran towards Yuna and the others whenever we were cut off by a large bird-like fiend. It looked more like a dragon mixed with a bird.

I turned around and saw a tall man walking towards us with a huge sword resting on his shoulder. He was wearing a long, red trenchcoat with one arm sticking out, holding onto the sword and his hair matched his age. It was once a black, but now fading into gray.

There was also a large scar across his left eye, forcing it shut.

Overall, he looked badass.

"Whoaaa." I breathed.

Tidus turned around and looked in astonishment along with me. Wakka turned around as well and gasped, "Sir Auron!"

Tidus looked at Wakka with accusing eyes, "So, you _do_ know him!"

"Yeah! Best guardian there ever was." Wakka declared.

I looked at Auron again. Being a guardian would explain the large scar on his face. We turned our attention back to the fiend, and defeated it in a few blows.

We ran through the stands, trying to make our way to the others, but we were once again stopped by fiends.

"Oh, c'mon!" I shouted.

I was so tired from the game and the fight earlier today, I was about to just fall over. One of the fiends was just about to attack me before it was hit by a ray of light and it exploded into a sea of pyreflies.

I looked up into the sky and gasped at what I saw.

Seymour was standing on the balcony with an aeon in front of him. It was a huge mummy-looking creature with scales poking through the bandages. It had razor sharp teeth and blood was dripping from its eye. It's arms were covered in tattoos and wrapped around the body just like a mummified person.

I watched in fear as it leaned back it's head and fired white lasers from it's bleeding eye. The light struck all the fiends in the stadium and they were instantly killed.

I couldn't move from my spot on the ground. This aeon was so powerful, and scary. I never wanted to mess with that thing.

After all of the fiends were gone, Seymour dismissed it and the light of the sun shone down on his face. Everyone began clapping and cheering for him, but I stayed put.

It was at the point that I saw that aeon, that I began to miss my family. Especially my mother. Why? I wasn't sure. I just felt empty inside.


	14. Chapter 14: New Guardians

I stared out into the blue sea. I looked back at Tidus, who was kicking a pebble on the ground.

He was supposed to be meeting Auron here at the dock for a chat, so I decided to come along. I had already said goodbye to the Aurochs, who were taking the cup back to the island. They made me an honorary member of the team. What a shocker!

I looked back and forth from Tidus and the ocean. I wasn't planning on staying for his conversation with Auron, but if this was going to be the last time I'd see him, I at least wanted a goodbye.

"So, you know this Auron guy pretty well?"

He looked up and met my eyes, "Yeah. He practically raised me. He was there for me after my mom died."

I looked down at my shoes, "Oh. I'm so sorry."

He shook his head, "No, it's okay. Don't worry 'bout it."

To be truthful, I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Tidus. He made my days so much better. And he's so damn cute! But I need to go help Yuna.

I took a deep breath, it was now or never.

I walked towards him and opened my arms. I instantly felt his warmth around me as he returned the hug. I laid my head down on his bare chest and listened to his heartbeat.

"This isn't the last you've seen of me." He said.

I looked up at him and smiled, hoping that he was right.

"I know." I replied.

We both let go and looked at each other nervously.

"Well, good luck to you. I need to be getting to Yuna and the others." I said.

He smiled at me, "Thanks. Good luck to you guys, too. I hope you beat Sin and give it an extra beating for me."

I smiled back at him, "Don't worry. I will."

I turned and saw Auron walking towards us, so I waved to him and yelled a "See ya later!"

He did the same and I ran down the docks, passing by Auron. As I slowed down and started walking, I felt someone grab my wrist.

"What the - ?" I started, but I turned to see that it was Auron who had grabbed me, so I stopped mid-sentence.

"A-Auron?" I asked.

He looked at me through his sunglasses, like he was inspecting me.

"Tell Lady Yuna that we'll be there soon." He simply said.

His voice was very gruff. It was almost like my father's.

I looked at him a bit intimidated and nodded my head. He nodded back and released me from his firm grip.

I continued walking down the docks and out to the main street of Luca. There was a slight breeze blowing, making my brown hair sweep off my shoulders. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and thought to myself.

_'How did he know that I was going to see Yuna? Certainly he didn't hear me talking to Tidus from that far away. And if he said WE'LL be there soon, then that means...'_

I stopped dead in my tracks. That means that Auron and Tidus will be coming with us! So now I'll get to spend more time with him!

I smiled and started running down the street and into the plaza. I needed to hurry up and tell Yuna!

As I passed by people, they would pat me on the back and congratulate me on my win. Of course I would smile and say thank you, but I was in no mood to stay and chat. I had a duty to carry out!

I rushed up the large set of stairs and onto the balcony where I saw Yuna, Wakka, Lulu and Kimahri. They all looked at me and I stopped to catch my breath.

"Hey, guys." I panted. Man, I'm really out of shape. I don't know how I made it through that game.

They each greeted me and went on with their conversation.

"Anyways, he's still in town, right? I think I'll go see him." Yuna said.

She started walking towards the stairs and I went after her.

"Uh, Yuna? If you're talking about Auron then he should be -"

I stopped as I saw both Auron and Tidus walk up the stairs, towards us.

"And right there they are." I finished.

Yuna gasped and walked up to Auron. "Sir Auron?"

"Yuna."

She seemed so shocked that he knew her name, but nodded her head anyways.

"I wish to become your guardian. Do you accept?"

Everyone gasped, except for Tidus. Even I was surprised that he just met her and he already wants to be her guardian. Is she really going to let him in?

"You're serious?" Lulu asked, disbelieving his words.

"So you refuse?" He asked.

Yuna fumbled for words, "Uh, no. No! Of course not! We'd love to have you with us, wouldn't we everyone?"

We all nodded and Wakka was smiling like an idiot.

"Of course! No problem at all!" He spoke.

Lulu crossed her arms, "But, why?"

"I promised Braska." Auron simply replied.

"You promised my father?" Yuna asked.

Auron nodded his head and Yuna showed her gratitude by bowing her head.

"Thank you, Sir Auron! You're welcome to join us!"

I watched closely as Auron grabbed the back of Tidus' shirt and pushed him forward, much to his dismay.

"And he comes, too."

Tidus looked at all of us and when he saw me, he started rubbing the back of his neck and blushing. Nervous habits of his, I suppose.

"Eh, hey guys. Howdy!"

"This one I promised Jecht." Auron said.

"Is Sir Jecht alive?" Yuna asked immediately.

"Can't say. Haven't seen him in ten years." Auron said.

Yuna hung her head, "Oh. I see."

"You'll meet him, eventually." Auron told her.

Yuna smiled, "Yes! I'm looking forward to it."

After that, everyone began talking about our itinerary and where we were headed next. I just wanted to relax for awhile, but from the sounds of it, we wouldn't be doing much of that for awhile.

I walked over the the little balcony that over looked the plaza of Luca and rested my arms on the railing. I put my head down in my arms and closed my eyes. I pictured my family, searching for me. I must have them all worried sick.

I lifted my head back up and saw Tidus standing beside me.

I smiled at him, "So. We meet again."

"Yeah. It was sooner than I expected."

I frowned, "You say it like it's a bad thing."

He sighed, "It isn't, trust me. I'm just bummed out right now."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." He replied.

I looked back out to the city and thought of something. I smirked and turned my attention back to Tidus.

"You know what I do whenever I feel sad?" I started.

He looked at me, "No. What?"

"I just smile and laugh out loud."

He looked at me like I was crazy. "Does it really help?"

I grinned, "Yup! Now, c'mon. I wanna see you smile." I grabbed his face and stretched it out to make him smile.

He grabbed my wrists and made me let go of him, "All right! I'll do it. Just stop trying to stretch out my face."

I giggled and watched him do a really fake smile.

"C'mon, Tidus. I know you can do better than that. Show me those pearly whites."

He sighed deeply and smiled his real smile this time. I smiled back and laughed at him.

"This feels so weird!" He said.

"I know, but it helps, I swear! Now, you gotta laugh out loud."

"Do I have to?" He asked.

"Yes, you do!" He looked at me and pouted. I sighed. "If you do it first, then I'll do it after you. Okay?"

He thought about it, "Wellll, okay."

I watched him inhale a few times and exhale afterwards, then he placed his hands on his hips and began to laugh out loud.

I almost fell on the ground from laughing so hard. I could sense everyone's eyes on us, but I didn't care. I stood tall right beside and copied him.

We both laughed at the city and soon the fake laughter was replaced with real laughter. We both sat on the ground, holding our sides.

"That was so funny!" I said.

"It was your idea!" He said in between chuckles.

I looked into his deep, blue eyes. "You feel better now?"

He looked back into my eyes, "Yeah, I do. Thanks, Riley."

I blushed and looked away from his dreamy gaze, "It was my pleasure."

"You're such an awesome person. I feel like I can always rely on you, ya know? And I want you to know that you can do the same."

I continued to smile, "Okay. Just whistle..." I started.

"And I'll come running." He finished.

We both looked into each other's eyes and I felt butterflies inside my stomach. I didn't want anything to ruin the moment, but sadly, Wakka loudly cleared his throat, making both of us look up at him.

"What are you looking at?" Tidus asked.

"We were just making sure you guys weren't going crazy." Wakka said.

I started to stand up, "Already there, Wakka."

Tidus laughed at my comment and we all headed up another set of stairs to our next destination.


	15. Chapter 15: The Mi'ihen Highroad

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the reviews :)**

**Again, I'm very open to all suggestions and I'll try my best to work them in.**

**Oh, by the way, I took Belgemine's character out of the story.**

**I thought there wouldn't really be a point to have her in because she mostly deals with Yuna and this story isn't about Yuna. :P**

**Sooo, anyways, on with the story!**

I ran up the stairs and stopped at the top. I frowned at the sight of the long, meadow like path ahead of us.

"Aww man. We have to walk this whole thing?" I asked.

"Yup!" Wakka said, walking in front of me.

I hung my head and felt someone pat my back. I lifted my head and saw Tidus smiling at me. "C'mon! It won't be that bad."

I sighed and started walking beside of him. "Where are we, anyways? Is this a part of Luca?"

"Nope. This is called the Mi'ihen Highroad." Yuna told me.

I shook my head, "Ohhhhkay."

We all continued walking in our little pack, occasionally stopping to defeat some fiends. I watched Auron fight. He was such a beast! He could take down almost any fiend in one or two hits with his katana blade. Having him with us was going to be a great advantage.

I stopped walking and looked at an old statue of a man holding a sword. An older, hunched over with white hair and a green outfit approached me.

"Do you know what those ruins are from?"

I looked at him and thought, "Uhh, some old city?"

"Correct. A city most ancient! A terrible testament to Sin's power. I tremble every time I see them. Compared to Sin, humans are mere mudpuppies!"

Yuna came up beside me, "But I believe humans are the only ones capable of defeating Sin."

"A good reply. I am relieved to hear you say that, m'lady summoner."

It was awkwardly silent for a few seconds before the old man spoke again.

"Where are my manners? I am Maechen, a scholar. At your service, m'lady. I am on a journey, studying the history of our world, Spira, seeking its stories and secrets... My travels have taken me to many places, and I am troubled by what I have seen. Fragile smiles on people's faces crumbling at the mere mention of Sin. They are counting on you, m'lady. Give them a reason to rejoin once more."

Yuna nodded her head, "I will."

"And you, be sure to guard her well." He said to me.

I nodded my head as well. "You don't need to worry about that, sir."

Maechen smiled and nodded his head and we left him to continue down the road. Many people passed us by and gave us gifts as token of Yuna's summoner-ness.

Everytime we got in a battle with some fiends, my first priority was making sure Yuna was okay. Which is kinda ironic because she's the one healing all of us. I feel like a bodyguard. But I suppose that's what a guardian is.

As we walked furthur down the path, we ran into two woman riding on these huge, yellow birds. They were so cute!

"Awww, look how cute!" I cooed.

I reached up to pet it, but it squaked at me and almost bucked the girl riding it off. I pulled my hand back and apologized.

"That's quite all right. Lady summoner, I presume?" She asked Yuna.

"Yes, I am Yuna."

"I am Lucil, captain of the Djose Chocobo Knights." The woman with a deep tan and red said.

"And I'm Elma. We've been charged to guard the Highroad." The dark haired woman said.

"There have been reports of a large fiend appearing in this area, with a taste for chocobos. Do take care, Summoner Yuna, if you are to rent any chocobos."

I cocked my head to the side. "Thank you. We will be careful." Yuna said.

When the two woman walked away I turned to Yuna. "What's a chocobo?"

"That big yellow bird that you tried to pet." She replied.

"Awww! How could a fiend eat those adorable things?" I asked.

"That's what I thought too. So, I think we should go get it!" Tidus said.

Auron approached us, "Why?"

"Well, uh, it's the right thing to do!" Tidus said.

Auron chuckled, earning a look from everyone in the group. "It's the right thing to do?"

Tidus crossed his arms, "What did I say now?"

"Jecht said that a lot, too. And every time he said it, it meant trouble for Braska and me." Auron replied as he started walking down the road.

We all ignored him and just went on down the road.

Walking sure does get tiring after awhile. At least it's putting me in better shape. Oh how I love being self-conscious.

As we made our way into the next section of the Highroad, we ran into a little girl and her mother.

Yuna talked to the little girl for a few minutes while I looked at all the wildflowers and ruins left from the ancient cities. I'm glad I didn't show up in Spira when the war was going on.

As I faded in and out of the conversation, I heard Yuna explain what 'The Calm' was. It sounded pretty sad to me that she was going to defeat Sin but it would only come back after a period of time.

But if that's what Yuna wants, then who am I to stop her?

I walked into the grass and kneeled down in front of a purple flower. I smiled as it drew me in with its natural beauty.

"Whatcha looking at?" Tidus asked me.

I looked at him and smiled, "Oh, nothing. Just looking at the flowers and stuff."

He chuckled, "Well you better hurry up before they leave us."

"Huh?" I looked ahead and saw that the group was moving along without us.

"Hey! Wait up!" I started running after them and Tidus followed me. We caught up and I gasped for air. "Next time, let me know that I'm daydreaming and that we need to keep moving!" I said to no one in particular.

We kept walking down the long, seemingly unending road until we got caught in walking traffic behind a large caravan.

"Hey, buddy! Get a move on, would ya?" I yelled.

I regretted what I said after Luzzu and Gatta emerged from the front of the caravan.

"Oops, sorry guys. Hehe." I said while scratching my head.

"Hey, we saw the game! You guys were great!" Gatta said. "Especially you, Riley."

I blushed slightly, "Aww. Thanks. I give credit to these two for teaching me all I know." I said as I put my arms around Tidus and Wakka.

The sound of running feet came up from behind us and Elma looked at the two boys.

"Hey! Stop loafing around!" She commanded.

Gatta stuttered, "Uh, the lady summoner, and her guardians..."

"This mission acquires our full attention. We've no time to waste! Understood?" Lucil said.

"Yes, ma'am! Apologies, ma'am!" Luzzu said, while putting his arm up to his chest.

I giggled at the fact that Luzzu was a very beefy looking guy, yet he was intimidated by Lucil. I guess it's because she's his commander.

"See? Keep your head down, say 'sir' a lot and you'll do fine." Luzzu told Gatta.

Gatta hung his head and said, "Right...sir."

We all laughed as the men were getting ready to leave again, but Luzzu stopped.

"Hey, Yuna. Even though Yevon rejected us... we still believe in you. That won't ever change."

Yuna smiled, "Thank you, Sir Luzzu, Sir Gatta. But, you know... It's not too late for you to go back to Besaid, and-"

Gatta cut her off, "We should be going, sir!"

Luzzu nodded to him and they started off in the caravan again. As I watched them travel down the road ahead of us, I got a really bad feeling in the pit in my stomach.

I wasn't sure why though. I shook the feeling away and continued down the highway.

As we walked, I noticed a woman with red hair in a outfit similar to a nun's, but all green. She was talking to a guard and was letting him stomp all over her.

"We'll defeat Sin any way we can!" He said gruffly.

"But Yevon's teachings say..." She squeeked out.

"Enough!" He yelled before walking away.

I felt kind of bad for her, so I walked over to her with Yuna following close behind and I talked to the woman.

"Is there a problem here?" I asked.

"I-I only meant to..." She managed to stutter.

She looked over at Yuna and her eyes became wide. "Lady Summoner...?"

They did the prayer gesture to each other. Maybe I should start doing it more.

"Yes, I am Yuna."

"It is an honor, my lady. My name is Shelinda. I am a disciple of Yevon."

Wakka entered the conversation. "What was all that about? The Crusaders' operation?"

Tidus butted in, too. "You mean the one Gatta and Luzzu were talking about?"

"I heard they were to use forbidden machina! I had to stop them." Shelinda said.

Tidus cocked his head to the side and I copied him. "Huh? Why?"

Lulu answered him, "The use of machina is strictly forbidden by the Yevon priesthood."

"That's bad, ya?" Wakka more said than asked.

Auron scoffed, "Let them use whatever they want. They still won't defeat Sin."

I kind of scowled. He has a point, but he doesn't need to be so harsh about it.

"But, it's not about defeating Sin! The teachings of Yevon must be upheld!"

Wakka agreed with Shelinda, "Yeah! Right!"

Shelinda shook her head, "But you don't understand! The Crusaders won't even listen to me. And it's all because I'm just a lowly acolyte."

_'What the heck is an acolyte?'_

"Don't say that. Well, I haven't been a summoner for very long myself, you see. Still, I can't put myself down every time I fail. People are depending on me. They're depending on both of us!" Yuna said while putting her arm around Shelinda's shoudlers.

Shelinda thought about it for a second before smiling, "Yes! Yes, you're right, my lady. Absolutely right! Thank you so much, Lady Yuna! Now, I feel I have the courage to finish my training."

As she walked away, we continued on our way and finally reached a small building.

"We rest here." Auron said.

"Thank goodness!" I exclaimed, falling to my knees. I was so tired of all the walking.

Wakka stopped walking, "But, this is an Al Bhed shop!"

"Is that a problem?" Auron said while looking at Wakka through his sunglasses.

Wakka crossed his arms, "They don't believe in Yevon. And in Luca, they...they kidnapped Yuna!"

"Where were her guardians?" Auron shot back.

Oooooh, burn Wakka.

Before Wakka could respond, Yuna stood in between them. "Sir Auron's just concerned about your health."

Wakka put his hands on his hips, "I'm not tired one bit!"

"Well I am." Auron said, walking into the small shop.

"Me too!" I said, also walking inside.

We each got a room and all relaxed for awhile. As soon as I laid my head on the pillow, I was out.


	16. Chapter 16: Bonding

I slowly opened my eyes and stretched in the small bed. I stood up and walked outside into the lobby and noticed that no one in my group was here.

_'Maybe they're all still sleeping.'_

I walked outside and breathed in the fresh air. Then, I noticed the sunset. I gasped as I saw the beauty of it.

Every color in the rainbow was painted across the sky as the sun held the position of the fiery center piece. I walked towards a small cliff-like area and sat down on the ground, making my belt jingle slightly.

This would be a good time to have a camera with me. Way to go, Riley.

I pulled my legs close to my chest and rested my chin on my knees. This was a really peaceful place.

"Whatcha up to?" A voice said from behind me.

I turned my head and noticed the handsome blonde walking towards me. The sunlight shone down on his tan skin, making him glow.

I caught myself blushing and quickly looked away. "Oh, I'm just relaxing out here."

He replied with a "Hm" and sat down next to me. He was extremely close if you ask me, but I didn't mind.

"So, how'd you sleep?" He asked me.

"Like a rock." I replied.

He chuckled, "That's good."

I looked at him, "How about you?"

"It wasn't the best sleep I've had."

I ruffled his hair, "Aww, poor Tidus."

He fidgeted and pulled me into a non-painful headlock. I laughed at him. "What exactly are you trying to do?"

He stuttered, "Uh, I, I'm not sure."

My head was leaning down towards his lap and as he let go of my neck, my head fell into his lap. Neither of us moved.

I wanted to sit back in my normal position, but I just moved my body so that my head stayed in his lap and I was on my back with my arms crossed across my chest.

Tidus didn't seem to mind my actions because he slowly started running his fingers through my hair.

I sighed happily, "This is so peaceful."

I looked up at him and caught his eyes. "Yeah, it is. I would live here if I could."

"Me too."

He smirked, "We should just live here after Yuna beats Sin."

I giggled, "That would be awesome. But..."

"But what?" He asked.

I sighed, "I was kind of looking forward to going home after we defeated Sin. IF I can get there, that is."

He looked back out into the distance, "Oh, I see. I feel the same way, actually."

I looked up into the sky and started twiddling my thumbs, poorly. I was never good at doing that.

"Hey, maybe we can find a way home together. I mean, if we're both not from Spira, then we must've gotten here the same way, right?"

I looked into his blue eyes, "I think you're onto something. I would love to find a way home with you, if you want."

He smiled, "Of course."

I exhaled and closed my eyes. Tidus was still running his fingers through my hair, and it was sending shivers throughout my entire body. I never wanted him to stop.

"So, what's Vegas like, Riley?"

I opened my eyes and looked at him. "It's a huge city known for it's bright lights, gambling and little chapels for drunks to get married in."

He laughed, "Sounds like Zanarkand."

I chuckled, "Yeah. I don't actually live in the heart of the city, though. I live in a small suburb outside of Vegas with my parents and little brother. I would never live in the actual city."

He nodded his head, "You wouldn't last very long."

I scoffed, "Thanks, Tidus."

"I'm just kidding, Riley."

I smiled at him, "I know you are."

It was silent for a few more moments before he spoke up again. "Tell me about your family."

"Uhh, well, my little brother Hunter is 12 years old and loves to play video games."

Video games. Those two words made me shudder. It reminded me that I was inside of one. Which brought up a good question. I wonder if Hunter is watching this right now.

"My mom and dad are both hard workers, always making sure we have the best. They're both pretty cool parents. They trust me, so that's a good thing."

"I bet they miss you right now." He said.

I looked away, "Yeah, I bet they do."

All of a sudden, I felt a tear slide down my face and off of my chin.

"I, uh, don't cry, Riley. I'm sorry I brought it up." Tidus nervously said as he wiped away the next tear with his free hand.

To be honest, I wasn't sure why I was crying. Of course I missed my family, but I've only been gone from home for a few days. I'm sure I've gone longer without seeing them.

As tears fell from my eyes, Tidus would wipe every single one away with one hand while he stroked my hair with the other.

I started laughing, "I, I'm sorry. This is just too cute."

He cocked his head to the side, "What's cute?"

Was he always this oblivious? It doesn't matter. It only makes him cuter.

"You are. You're such a sweet guy, Tidus. Thanks for listening to me and actually caring."

I can't believe I just said that out loud.

"Hey, it's my pleasure. I do care, Riley, and I'll always be here to listen. And I don't wanna see you cry. It makes me sad."

I smiled, "I think I'm done now."

He returned the smile, "Good."

The sky had now faded into a deep purple and blue color. The sun was almost completely down, signaling the moon to take over. But I didn't move a muscle and neither did Tidus.

I slowly closed my eyes and began to drift off into sleep, not realizing that I was still laying on Tidus. He probably wants me to move.

But we never moved. We sat there for another hour or so, talking some and just relaxing. We really bonded that night.

I could tell that Tidus really cared about what I had to say. Despite his goofyness, he was a total sweetheart.

Somewhere during our many conversations, I heard the inn door slam shut. I thought about looking to see who it was, but I didn't.

After awhile, I felt my eyes start to droop.

_'No! Gotta stay awake. Can't fall asleep on Tidus.'_

In the battle between my mind and my eyes, eyes came out on top. I closed my eyes and drifted off into dream land with a smile on my face.

**TIDUS' POV**

I couldn't believe that we sat outside for that long, just sitting and talking. I can't believe she didn't think it was awkward of me to be running my fingers through her hair.

I was trying to be romantic, and that's the best idea I had. And I think it worked because she called me cute. I felt like I was on top of the world.

I learned so much about Riley that I didn't know before.

I found out her favorite color is blue, and her favorite animal is a giraffe, whatever that is.

She's from a completely different world than me, yet I feel like I've known her forever.

I noticed she had fallen asleep in my lap and I decided to carry back inside the inn. I slowly lifted her up, bridal style, and carried her inside.

I pushed the door open with my foot and walked into the small lobby.

"Did she fall asleep outside?" The woman at the desk asked.

"Yeah, we were talking and she just drifted off. I knew she would." I said.

"Let me get the door for you." She said.

"Thanks."

She opened the door to Riley's room for me and I thanked her again. I laid her sleeping form on the bed and gazed at her. The moon was now shining through the small window, falling on her light skin. Her hair was the prettiest shade of brown and her lips were a light pink.

She looked like an angel.

I watched her breathe in and out a few times before taking a huge risk by kissing her lightly on the forehead. She never moved afterwards, so I exhaled the breath I was holding before leaving to go to my own room.

I laid in my bed and closed my eyes. There was no doubt in my mind that I had feelings for that girl.


	17. Chapter 17: Chocobos

I woke up the next morning feeling completely rejuvenated. I stood up and stretched my muscles, then relaxed them.

I really enjoyed last night with Tidus. But there was one question that was running around my mind. Where do we stand now?

Does he like me? Does he want to be more than friends? I'm not sure.

I walked out into the lobby and noticed Tidus was talking to a man with long, blonde hair. He reminded me of a steampunk Fabio.

"I am Rin, owner of this establishment." The blonde man said.

I walked up beside Tidus and jumped into the conversation, "Hey there! I'm Tidus' friend Riley."

"Hela du saad oui."

Tidus and I both exchanged looks and said, "Huh?"

"It means, nice to meet you."

"Well helly doo sad wee to you, too." Tidus said.

I giggled as Rin hung his head and shook it. "You know, you two could learn our language, if you want. Just collect the Al Bhed Primers that are located in different spots around Spira. Here's one to get you started."

He handed me a small booklet and we thanked him.

All of a sudden, a scream was heard from outside.

"Someone, help! The chocobos!"

"Oh no!" I said.

Auron appeared in front of us and spoke. "That's our cue. Let's go!"

He both nodded and joined the rest of the party outside of the inn. All of a sudden, the ground started to shake. A couple chocobos ran past us, squaking in fear. I decided to look at what they were running from and gasped at the sight.

A large, toad like fiend with a huge tongue hanging out of its mouth held a chocobo in its hand as it perched on top of the Travel Agency.

"Hey! Put that poor thing down!" I yelled at I threw a rock at the fiend.

The rock struck it right between the eyes and it dropped the chocobo. We all got our weapons out and got ready for the upcoming battle.

The chocobo eater jumped down from the inn rooftop and landed in the large field in front of us. We started the battle by hammering away at the beast. But it shot back by stretching its arms out and pushing us all backwards.

"We gotta push it back before it pushes all over the edge!" Lulu said.

We all followed her directions and hit it with enough force that we sent it tumbling over the edge of the cliff. It hit the bottom and burst into a thousand pyreflies.

I cheered and hugged Tidus. Now the chocobos could run free!

"Thank you so much for saving the chocobos!" A young woman said.

Rin approached us and smiled. "Have you an interest in renting some chocobos? As a token of our gratitude, the first time is free of charge. Please ask the attendant if you wish to rent."

I pumped my fist into the air. "Yes! Let me on one RIGHT NOW!"

Everyone laughed at my behavior, except for Kimahri, that is. Because he never speaks in general. The attendant led us to some chocobos and helped me on one.

The large, yellow bird nearly bucked me off, but I held on tight. After a few minutes, it became comfortable with me on its back. I kicked it's sides gently and it started walking off down the road.

"This...is...awesome!" I said.

Behind me, Yuna was giggling. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

I flashed her a big smile, "Thanks!"

After walking past a bridge and a few passerbys, I felt devious. I kicked the bird's sides again and said, "Let's pick the speed some!"

The chocobo seemed to understand me perfectly and it started running at a steady pace down the highroad. I could feel the wind blowing in my hair as it ran faster and faster.

"Wooooohoooo!" I yelled.

This feeling was amazing! I felt like a cowgirl from back in the old days, riding on her trusty steed. Except, it was my trusty fowl.

I turned my head for a second and saw Tidus was catching up to me on his chocobo. I smirked at him, "You looking for a race?"

He smirked back, "Prepared to lose?"

I loved his cockiness.

I scoffed nontheless, "Pshh, whatever."

I made the bird slow down to a stop and we stood beside each other, ready to race. We exchanged looks and I counted to three.

"1...2...3!" I yelled. In an instant, we both took off. We ran down the highroad at full speed, past all the winding turns and twists in the road.

We were neck and neck, passing each other up along the road until we reached a gate with people standing around it.

I nudged my chocobo forward a little more, and we almost ran into the people standing at the gate.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm a summoner!"

"Sorry ma'am. No exceptions."

I noticed it was that witch Dona with the shrunken head man talking to a guard. I was just about to run them over whenever my chocobo almost came to a screeching halt and I went flying off of the bird.

"Look out!" I screamed. But by the time I was about to crash into them, Gatta ran in front of Dona and caught me. We both fell on the ground, but he broke my fall.

"Ouch." I muttered.

I noticed that everyone had approached us on their chocobos and Tidus was holding his stomach from laughter.

I glared at him, but then smirked. "I don't see why you're laughing. I still won."

He immediately stopped laughing and crossed his arms. "Whatever."

I smiled at him with a goofy grin, then heard someone grunting underneath of me. "Oh my God! Gatta, I'm sorry! I didn't know I was still on top of you."

I stood up and helped him up as well.

"No problem, Riley." He said while holding his head.

I hugged him, "Thanks for breaking my fall."

I felt him hug me back, "Oh, it was my pleasure. Couldn't let one of Lady Yuna's guardians, plus my friend, get hurt."

I let him go and went back to my group. Gatta was a real sweetie. I hope nothing happens to him while he's a crusader.

Gatta ran back to help Luzzu bring in caravans full of cockroach looking things. They all squirmed around, trying to get out of their cages.

I cringed at the sight of them.

"This is the last of them." Luzzu said.

"Good to have you with us. Go on through!"

Before they went through the gate, Gatta turned back around and spoke to Tidus and I.

"Show me how to play blitz sometime!"

Luzzu smiled, "Wait around. We'll have Sin beaten in no time!"

We both nodded to the two men and our group tried to proceed through the same gate but the guard stopped us.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you pass." But then he paused and looked at Yuna. "Hey, you're a summoner and her guardians, right? Sorry for the inconvenience."

Before we went through, Tidus and I stopped before the guard.

"Hey, uh, can you tell us what's going on with those bug looking things?"

"What, they didn't tell you? We're bringing Sinspawn from all over Spira here. Sinspawn inevitably draw Sin, right? We're going to lure it into a trap! This mission, Operation Mi'ihen, is a Crusader - Al Bhed joint mission. We Crusaders lure Sin in, and the Al Bhed strike it down. You see, Al Bhed hate Sin as much as we do. They managed to salvage ancient machina. They say they're as powerful as the mighty aeons. Well, you know machina are forbidden by Yevon. Ah...on second thought, let's not go there. Better for you not to know. The Crusaders in Operation Mi'ihen have all been excommunicated. My own family won't even speak to me now. We have to beat Sin today. Otherwise, there's nowhere for us to go."

I frowned. In a way, I really wanted to get bragging rights in defeating Sin. But also, because this plan sounded completely dangerous.

I didn't want the Al Bhed to have to go through with this, but who was I to stop them?

Since the guard wouldn't let us through, I walked back towards the chocobos with my hands behind my head.

I was just about to space out into my own little world whenever I noticed the striking blue hair walking towards our group.

I swallowed hard. It was Seymour.

I backed up and sort of hid behind Tidus, but I didn't make it obvious. He turned around and looked at me funny.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

I simply pointed with my eyes as Yuna and Seymour did the prayer to each other.

"So we meet again, Lady Yuna."

Yuna became very nervous, "Y-Yes?"

Seymour cocked his head to the side. "You look troubled. Is there anything I can do?"

"Well..."

We both looked towards the gate and Seymour nodded.

"I see."

Seymour walked over to the gate, his goons following close behind.

"Maester Seymour. Let me show you to the command center." The guard said.

Seymour held up his hand, "Hold. I have a request."

"Yes, Your Grace?"

"I need to have Summoner Yuna and her guardians let through to the command center."

The man tried to argue, "But, Maester Seymour, sir."

"Do not worry. I will take full responsibility."

The guard sighed, "Very well. They may pass."

Seymour turned back to face us, "It is done."

"Thank you, Your Grace." Yuna said as she bowed.

As he walked away, Yuna followed him, as did the rest of our group. I stayed back and crossed my arms.

"Who does he think he is?" I said.

Wakka came up behind me and patted my shoulder. "He's a maester. Better get used to it, ya?"

He left me to follow Yuna and Tidus followed him, but stopped to look at me. He smiled before turning back around and walking again.

I blushed a little bit and laughed when I saw Dona and her man friend walking away from the gate, pissed as ever.

I ran through the gate and onto the rough, rocky road that led to the command center.


	18. Chapter 18: Operation Mi'ihen Part 1

As we walked into the rocky area, all kinds of soldiers and others in uniform greeted our party. Well, they were actually greeted Seymour.

"All hail Maester Seymour!" They cheered.

Seymour approached them and smiled. "Brave Crusaders of Spira, protectors of all Spira. Believe in the path you have chosen, let faith be your strength! I, Seymour Guado, maester of Yevon, will bear witness to your deeds today."

Every Crusader saluted him and yelled, "Sir!"

I crossed my arms and scowled. Something fishy was going on here.

Wakka got the same idea as me.

"What's goin' on? Why's Maester Seymour backing the Crusaders, eh? They're using Al Bhed's machina! They're violating the teachings!"

Yuna stood up for the Al Bhed. "Even going against the teachings they're willing to risk it for the greater good. Wakka, I think Maester Seymour sees that, too."

Wakka started whining and looking everywhere for answers.

"Lulu?"

She put her finger on her chin, "Hmm... I can only speculate."

Wakka groaned and I patted his back.

"I'm with you on this one, Wakka."

"Well then, ask him yourself." Auron said.

Seymour walked up to us to and apparently he didn't notice Auron before, because he began to stare at him.

He snapped out of his gaze and spoke to him. "Ah, Sir Auron. It is an honor. I would be most interested in hearing what you've been doing these past ten years."

I've got nothing to say about it." Auron said before walking away.

"I...see." He said a bit taken aback. "Sir Auron must be a great asset as a guardian."

"Your Grace!" Yuna said surprised.

I wish she'd stop calling him everytime he came around.

"Please, there's no need for formalities."'

Thank you.

Wakka coughed and scratched his neck, "Excuse me... Maester Seymour? Why is your Lordship... presently...present here...sir?"

I giggled. Wakka was as nervous as a teenager kissing his girlfriend for the first time.

Seymour sighed, "Please, speak as you normally would."

Wakka took a deep breath and blurted this thoughts out. "Isn't this operation against the teachings of Yevon? Aren't you gonna stop them?"

"It's true... I should. However... Both the Crusaders and the Al Bhed truly wish peace for Spira. This Operation Mi'ihen was born from that wish they share. Although it may be sacrilege to Yevon, their intentions are pure. And I, Seymour Guado-the person, not the maester of Yevon... as a denizen of Spira, I wish them well in their endeavor."

"But, using machina... That's bad, isn't it?"

"Pretend you didn't see them."

We all gasped. I'm pretty sure he shouldn't have said that.

"Beg your pardon, but that's not something a maester should say!" Wakka shouted.

"Then pretend I didn't say it."

Seymour smiled at us before walking away and leaving us in awe.

"You're kidding!" Wakka said while slapping his hand on his forehead.

I nodded my head and just followed everyone down the road. We were making our way down the moss covered rock road but Clasko stopped us before we could walk any furthur.

"Excuse me, Lady Summoner Yuna?"

"Yes?"

"The command center... Maester Seymour requests your presence there, ma'am."

I rolled my eyes, but was ignored as Yuna politely said "Thank you."

Clasko pointed us in the right direction. "Take that road to the command center. It's not far. We're still in the midst of preparations this way. Sorry."

We walked down the windy, rock road fighting off the fiends that came at us. I think I got a good bit stronger as we walked down the road.

We eventually boarded a lift and it took us up to another lift that led to the command center. I was headed straight towards the lift, but noticed Luzzu and Gatta arguing in front of it.

"Why only you, sir? I want to fight, too!" Gatta shouted.

"Orders are orders."

But Gatta refused. "I'm not a cadet anymore, sir! Let me go with you, and I'll prove it to them!"

"Guarding the command center is important too, you know."

"But I came all the way from Besaid to fight Sin, sir!"

Luzzu sighed, "I know, but an order's an order. To your post, Crusader."

Gatta balled his hands into fists and they started to shake. "But, sir!"

And with that, he ran away from the lift.

"Gatta, wait!" I tried to stop him, but he ignored me. I was going to run after him, but Tidus laid his hand on my shoulder telling me to stop.

Luzzu shook his head and looked up at us. "They let you through, huh?"

"Gatta deserves better..." I muttered.

"At least there's no chance he'll get hurt. Why are you guys fighting, anyway? Aren't the almighty Al Bhed machina enough?" Wakka asked.

"They still need some time to get them ready. Our job is to keep Sin at bay till they're done."

Wakka became instantly pissed off again and turned his back to Luzzu with his arms crossed. If you ask me, I think he's acting like a child.

Luzzu took a deep breath and walked towards Wakka.

"Wakka... I might not get another chance to say this. It's about your brother."

Lulu's eyes widened as she shouted, "Luzzu, no!"

"What?" Wakka asked.

The rest of us stood back and watched the story unfold before us as Luzzu spoke.

"I'm the one who convinced him...to enlist."

Wakka's face was a mix of hurt and shock. He looked at Lulu for answers, but she avoiding his strong gaze. He then looked at Luzzu and took a step towards him.

"I'm sorry." Luzzu said.

Wakka paused for a few moments, then punched Luzzu hard on the side of the face, sending Luzzu to the hard ground. Everyone gasped, especially Lulu. Wakka was just about to pounce on him to do more damage, but Tidus and I ran behind him and grabbed his arms.

"Wakka! That's enough, Wakka!" Tidus yelled as Wakka tried to escape his grasp.

When he stopped squirming around, we let him go.

"When we used to play blitz together, Chappu used to say... He'd say that-when we won the Cup, ya?-he'd propose to Lulu. And then one day...he goes off and becomes a Crusader. Just like that."

I gasped. This was just like watching an episode of Days of Our Lives, or Jerry Springer!

Luzzu stood up slowly, still holding his cheek. "Chappu also said to me... That being with your girl is good... But keeping Sin far away from her is better."

Wakka turned to Lulu. "Lu, you knew?"

She slowly shook her head. "Luzzu told me...before we left."

Luzzu chuckled, "She hit me, too."

Right at that moment, Lucil rode up on her chocobo.

"All Crusaders in the vanguard are to assemble on the beach!"

Luzzu nodded his head, "That's my cue."

He began to walk away, but Wakka stopped him.

"Luzzu! Don't die out there."

"So you can hit me more?"

Wakka lifted up his arm and hit it multiple times. "Lots! Lots more!"

Luzzu stared at him, a bit frightened, but he waved Wakka off and started to walk away.

Yuna and I exchanged looks and we stepped out in front of him, blocking his path.

"Sir Luzzu, please! Please, don't go!" She said.

"You're gonna die if you go out there against that thing." I added.

Luzzu sighed and touched both of our shoulders. "I have to, girls."

"Let him go." We both looked at Auron in shock.

"The man has already chosen his path... As you did when you became a summoner and a guardian."

I looked at Yuna and she gave me a sad nod. We moved out of the man's way and watched him walk away.

As I watched Luzzu walk away. I couldn't help but think I'd never see him again.

I shook the feeling off and stepped onto the platform with the rest of the group and stepped back off onto a cliff-like area.

There were many people dressed in uniforms walking around and there were ancient cannons on the edge of the cliff.

Of course Wakka walked over and kicked one of them.

"Curse these!"

The cannon made a tiny clunking noise, followed by Wakka grabbing his foot and yelling in pain.

I giggled and Tidus shook his head.

"He really hates them, huh?"

"Chappu... He left the sword Wakka gave him in Besaid. And he fought with an Al Bhed machina weapon instead." Lulu explained.

"That's got nothing to do with it!" Wakka shot back. "I just hate these sacrilegious contraptions!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right."

As I approached the edge of the cliff, I spotted many Crusaders down on a nearby beach. They were all saluting and releasing the bug like creatures into one huge cage. They were beginning to form a bigger bug, but no one else seemed to notice.

Wakka scoffed. "It won't work anyway."

Yuna scolded him. "Don't say that. It might be a hopeless campaign, and it might mean defying Yevon... But the Crusaders and the Al Bhed-they're doing their best to defeat Sin. They want to rid Spira of Sin forever. And that's just what we want, too, isn't it? Isn't it?"

"Hmph! All right, all right! But I still think machina are bad news! They're forbidden for a reason!"

Then, Lucil appeared out of nowhere."Lady Summoner! There you are! The command center is that way. Maester Kinoc is also there."

"Maester Kinoc, too?" Yuna questioned.

"Yes. Please hurry, my lady."

As we walked to the main gate, Gatta stood there and greeted us unenthusiastically.

"The operation will begin shortly. Please check all your equipment."

"You all right?" I asked.

Gatta made his hands into fists. "Of course not! I came here to fight Sin! But they stick me here!"

"If you want to prove yourself..." Auron started to say.

"Huh?"

"First you must complete the tasks you are given."

He hung his head in thought and we left him to contemplate. I shook my head at the dark skinned teenager and walked into the command center.

I don't even know why it was the command center. The only things that were set up were cannons, tables, and some tents.

"I'd heard from Seymour, but I didn't know if we'd actually meet. Good to see you, Auron! Ten years, is it?"

I look over and see Auron speaking to a bald, chubby man in a long, orange rob. He began to laugh and Lulu came over to explain.

"That's Wen Kinoc, one of the Four Maesters of Yevon. He leads the warrior monks and also commands the Crusaders."

"All troops ready to move at your command, sir!" Gatta told him.

"Good. Dismissed."

"Sir!"

Kinoc crossed his stubby arms.

"Tell me, Auron. Where have you been the last ten years?"

Auron sighed, "We don't have time for this now, do we?"

Kinoc leaned closer to Auron and whispered something to him.

"This plan won't work, you know that. We'll just let them dream a little longer."

"What?" I asked. I was about to question this Kinoc guy whenever the blue haired freak interrupted.

"Lord Kinoc..."

"Oh, yes. Proceed."

As Kinoc walked away with Seymour, Auron scoffed. "That Kinoc, a maester?"

Kinoc snapped his head back around. "I heard that, Auron. A lot has happened the last ten years. What were you doing, and where?"

"Fulfilling a promise I made to a friend. I still am."

"Just tell me one thing: Have you seen Zanarkand?"

Why is this guy all up in Auron's business? If I were Auron, I'd slice his giant head open with my katana.

But being the strong and collected man Auron is, he simply huffed and walked away.

I shook my head and crossed my arms as I walked over to Yuna.

"I kinda...think we don't belong here." She said.

"You're telling me. I got a bad feeling about this." I replied.

And usually these bad feelings of mine are right.

"It is time at last. We must tell the Al Bhed waiting outside to begin the operation at once. The fiends may break through. This place is not safe. Make sure you're prepared to defend yourselves. Tell me when you're ready." One of the guards said.

Everyone in the party prepared their weapons. I put some more bullets in my guns and prepared myself.

"Will Sin come?" Yuna asked Kinoc.

"Sin always returns for its spawn. To make sure, we're going to encourage them to call out to it."

"You won't have to. It'll come." Auron said.

I looked around and found Tidus. His face was blank, but I could tell he was deep in thought. He seemed to be more and more serious as the days went on. I wonder why.

I started walking towards him, but the ground began to shake. A shock is sent through the cage of sinspawn and they broke free of their compartment. The sinspawn joined together to form a huge, centipede like fiend with huge claws and a snake-like head.

Everyone gathered around the beast and we began to fight. 


	19. Chapter 19: Operation Mi'ihen Part 2

This sinspawn was tough! Auron was the only one who could slice through its massive claws. Lulu blasted her fire spells as Wakka and I hit the head.

Yuna just stood back and healed everyone.

You'd think we could've just pushed the thing off the cliff and into the water, right? Well, that didn't happen.

Once we depleted all it's HP, it just turned gray and stood there frozen.

"Hey, what gives? Where are all the pyreflies?" I asked.

But I was completely ignored. I could see why, though. Everyone watched over the cliff as the chocobo riders charged at a HUGE shadow that hovered over the sea.

I looked up and my jaw dropped. A huge frog like creature waded out in the middle of the ocean. It had little holes all over it's body and a huge sphere of water surrounded it.

I giggled slightly. "That's Sin? I thought it would look scarier."

The people lined up on the beach charged at Sin as cannons blasted at the beast. Chunks of skin fell from its body as its roar echoed through the air.

But Sin was prepared. As chunks of its body fell into the water, it charged up a laser type attack and a bright light gleamed from it's body.

It shot out and everything it touched was totally destroyed.

In a flash, the barrier began to reach the cliff we were standing on.

"Look out!" Auron screamed.

Everyone scattered and my body acted on its own. I jumped off the cliff and landed under the freezing water. Luckily, the barrier didn't touch me, but the impact of falling into the water knocked me out cold.

I stayed under water for what seemed like years, but it was only seconds. I quickly opened my eyes and swam up to the surface.

I gasped for air and gazed at the giant monster that was nearly 30 feet away from me. I shot my eyes back up to the cliff and saw The Al Bhed weapon powering up. They aimed the huge beam at Sin, and the energy blast is fired at the barrier. Sin fought back and the Al Bhed put more force into their beam. A portion of the barrier went forward, smashing the tower. The tower blows up, and Sin's barrier dissapeared. Sin submerges and swims away.

The force of the explosion even shook the water and sent the waves crashing over my head. I lost control of my body and I went tumbling under the water.

I opened my eyes for a second, but closed them again as my head hit a rock and everything went black.

I felt my body lying on something soft. In the distance, I could hear a low rumbling and the sound of pyreflies flying around.

My clothes and hair were soaking wet and I could feel a bump on my head. I slowly opened my eyes and grabbed my head from the immediate pain I felt from the light.

I slowly stood up and looked around the beach. Bodies were everywhere; some alive, some dead. I let go of my head and searched for any familiar faces.

And I found Gatta sitting on his knees, gripping his head. I ran over to him and kneeled down in front of him.

"Gatta, are you okay?" I asked.

"What's...going on? Why? What?" What's going on!"

I tried to calm him down, but something else caught my eye. The bright blonde man was running down the beach screaming, "Don't you run away from me!"

My eyes went wide as I saw what he was running after.

Sin.

"Tidus! No!" I yelled.

I sprinted down the beach to catch him, but something was holding me back. Literally.

I looked back and saw Auron, of all people, was holding me back.

"Let me go!" I commanded him.

"No! You have to let him go! If you go out there, you'll be killed!" He replied.

I struggled to break free, but even with one arm he was stronger than me. It was no use. I collapsed on my knees and watched as he swam after the giant creature.

Tears were welling up in my eyes as I lost sight of Tidus and Sin. I couldn't take it if I lost him now. Not after all we've been through.

Pyreflies were flying all around the beach. Yuna was being held back from Seymour. Wakka and Lulu were nowhere in sight.

I didn't know what to do. I was paralyzed. I just sat there on the ground and cried.

I felt someone touch my shoulder, and I noticed that Auron was still standing behind me.

I wiped my eyes and looked at his eyes past his glasses. "What are you still doing here?"

"Look." He spoke.

I looked in the direction of his pointing finger and saw Tidus lying face down on the shore.

I gasped and shot up on my feet and ran over to him. I gently grabbed him and flipped him over and looked him over for any signs of injury.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked back at me. He stayed blank at first, but then lightened up.

"Riley, why are you crying?" He asked.

I smiled slightly and shook my head.

"You're crazy for going out there." I said while swiping the tears from my eyes.

He sighed, "I know. And I'm sorry I didn't stop when you yelled for me."

"It's okay. I'm just glad you weren't hurt."

We shared a small smile and then watched as Yuna began to dance on the beach. Everytime she performed the sending, I got goosebumps.

How many died today? Why does Yuna have to dance?

I wonder, how many times will she have to dance until we beat Sin?

Why couldn't everything just worked how it was supposed to?

I think these were the only things I cared about right now.

After Yuna was done dancing, I stood up and watched as Auron and Kinoc had another conversation.

"A swift retreat. Satisfied?"

"What do you mean?" Kinoc asked.

"Those who turned from Yevon died while the faithful live on."

Kinoc sighed, "The past ten years have changed you, I see."

And after that, he left.

I looked at Auron, who was shaking his head. I felt bad for him. But at the same time I was thankful that he had saved me earlier.

I approached him and slowly bowed my head.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm thanking you by bowing. Isn't that what you're supposed to do?"

He chuckled, "I'm not a Yevonite or a maester. No need to bow for me."

I looked at him and my face turned blood red. I was so embarrassed!

"Oh, uh, well, thank you for holding me back earlier." I said.

He nodded his head, "It was nothing. You play a huge part in Yuna's pilgrimage and your story can't end yet."

I looked at him with my eyebrows raised. I understood absolutely none of that.

"My story?"

And with that, he walked away, leaving me with so many questions.

I decided to go ask Yuna. Maybe she would know what stuff Auron's been smoking. I approached the summoner but saw her with Seymour.

"Are you afraid?" He asked her.

Yuna didn't reply, but she did smile at him.

"Yuna, take me as your pillar of strength. As Yunalesca had her lord Zaon."

Immediately, I became angry. It was Seymour's fault that we were even here in this mess.

"You!" I yelled, pointing my finger at him.

"It's your fault that we had to come here and we almost got killed!"

Yuna gasped and tried to cover my mouth with her hand.

"She, She's just, uh, ignore her!" Yuna said.

Seymour looked less than happy. "She's right. I shouldn't have bringed you and your guardians into this, Yuna. I am sorry, Riley."

I cocked an eyebrow. How does he know my name?

"Lady Yuna. Until next we meet, farewell."

And off he went, with his cronies trailing behind him.

Yuna removed her hand from my mouth and glared at me.

"We could've been killed! And we have to beat Sin the traditional way, just like Wakka said. If anything were to happen to any of you guys, I don't know what I would've done."

Yuna sighed, "It's okay. I knew we shouldn't have been here. I'm just happy we're all still in one piece."

I looked around and noticed Lulu, Wakka, Kimahri, Tidus and Auron were waiting for us.

I smiled at her, "Let's get this pilgrimage on the road."

She smiled back and nodded and we walked to greet the rest of the party. 


	20. Chapter 20: Djose Temple

We began walking down another road, similar to the Mi'ihen Highroad, except it was made out of rock and was by the water.

I was slugging along with Tidus and Kimahri in the back of the crowd.

"Hey, you three! Hurry up!" Yuna said, smiling before running off to the head of the group.

"She's awfully cheerful." Tidus said.

"Yeah, tell me about it." I replied.

Kimahri walked in front of us, but stopped and turned around.

"In dark times she must be. She must shine bright." He said.

Wait, did he just talk?

My jaw dropped and so did Tidus'.

"Huh?" We both said.

"Now are dark times. Yuna tries hard." He continued.

"We should help her, then." Tidus said.

"If we worry, she tries harder. Do not frown."

Kimahri began to walk away, but I followed him.

"So it's like, 'Don't worry, be happy'?"

Kimahri looked at me and nodded. "Kimahri try, too."

"Smile! Let me see." Tidus said.

Kimahri crossed his arms and tried to smile. His mouth opened up it looked more like a cat that's about to hiss at you.

I tried to hold back my laughter and Tidus nodded his head.

"Sad..." He muttered.

I laughed at him and we continued to walk down the rocky road. We passed many priests and wounded people on our way.

Everyone was heading to the Djose temple.

As we walked down the road, we came to a fork in the path. Tidus ran up ahead to Wakka and stopped him.

"Hey! How much longer till Zanarkand?"

"Still a ways." The redhead responded.

"First down the Moonflow to the Guado city of Guadosalam. Then we cross the Thunder Plains to the temple of Macalania."

Tidus and I both groaned. "Oh, boy."

"And before that, we get to pray at the temple in Djose!" Yuna said with a smile.

"Isn't that where we're going right now?" I asked.

Yuna nodded, "It's right down this road."

"We can't just skip all that? Can we, huh?" Tidus asked.

Yuna shook her head, "I have to pray to the fayth in every temple in order to earn the Final Aeon."

"That's a summoner's training. She's gotta prepare mind and body, all just to get ready for the Final Summoning." Wakka added.

"Must be tough, Yuna." Tidus said.

"I'll be fine with you here!" She responded.

Ouch. What was that pang in my chest? I think it's called jealously.

I shook it off and walked past everyone and over the small slope in the road along with Kimahri.

Since I know the big cat can talk, I guess it's time to make small talk.

"So Kimahri, do you like being a guardian?" I asked.

He nodded, "Kimahri would do anything to protect Yuna. Kimahri have good time with other guardians."

I giggled, "So you like having us around, huh?"

"Kimahri think Riley make good guardian. Riley is fun and trustworthy, much like Yuna."

I nodded my head. "Thanks, Kimahri!"

All of a sudden he looked at me and said something strange.

"Kimahri also think Riley and Tidus make good pair."

I stopped walking and cocked an eyebrow at him, but he continued walking down the bridge leading to the temple.

I made sure Tidus wasn't in earshot before I ran back up to Kimahri.

"What do you mean by a good pair?" I asked.

Kimahri looked at me like I was the biggest idiot on the planet.

"Tidus have feelings for Riley. Kimahri sees it. Riley return these feelings, too."

I blushed a bright shade of red and stopped walking again. Is it so obvious that even the Ronso can see it?

I just stood there with a blood red face until I felt someone nearly push me over. Tidus popped into my view and smiled.

"C'mon, slowpoke!" He said.

I shook my head and began to walk behind him.

As I walked off of the bridge, the gray ground beneath my feet began to shake.

"What is this? An earthquake?"

I walked a little furthur down the road and looked up to see a giant, trembling rock. Everyone in our party was staring at it, as well.

"Is this Djose Temple?" I asked.

Electric volts were jolting from the great rock. It eventually exploded into big chunks of rock with lightning running through them, floating in the air. Below the rocks, the temple was now in clear view.

"Awesome!" Tidus and I both exclaimed.

"The Lightning Mushroom Rock. It only opens when a summoner is addressing the fayth." Lulu said.

"That means another summoner's already in there." Wakka said.

"Another summoner?"

Tidus crossed his arms. "What if it's Dona?"

I made a gagging sound and Tidus laughed at me.

"We have to hurry." Yuna said.

"Right! In we go!"

We walked into the temple. Just as I thought, electricity was pulsing through the inside as well as the outside. The door to the Cloister of Trials opened at the top of a stairs and a man in a blue robe walks out, followed by a little kid and younger, darker skinned man.

The man in the robe approached Yuna and looked at her funny. "I beg your pardon, but may I ask your name?"

"I am Summoner Yuna, from the isle of Besaid."

"As I thought! The daughter of Lord Braska. You have the look of your father."

"My father? You knew him?"

"No, I have never met the man. Ah, my apologies. I am Isaaru. I am a summoner, like you."

"I'm Pacce. Pleased to meet you." We all looked down at the youngster, who was jumping up and down.

The other man coughed and approached us as well. "And I'm Maroda. I'm guarding my big brother here."

"Since I was a child, I've always looked up to Lord Braska. I wished I would someday become a high summoner like he was. You must have some of your father's talent in you! I believe you might someday defeat Sin."

Yuna began to stutter, "I...I'm not really... I've only just become a summoner."

Issaru interrupted her rambling. "Of course, I've not intention of losing, either. So perhaps we should race to see who can defeat Sin first, no?"

"Very well, then. I accept your challenge."

I walked up beside Yuna. "You guys are in for it! We're gonna kick your butt."

Maroda rolled his eyes, "Whatever, you think. Isaaru!"

Isaaru nodded his head, "Yuna, I beg your leave. Good luck, to both of us!"

Yuna smiled, "Yes."

The three boys left and we began to walk up the stairs to the Cloister of Trials, until someone stopped me.

"Hey, you."

Tidus and I both turned and asked "Me?"

Isaaru approached us. "You are Yuna's guardians, no? Maroda's heard a curious rumor. I thought you should know."

Maroda nodded his head, "I heard it from those Crusaders. Seems that summoners have been going out on pilgrimage and just...disappearing."

"It could just be the fiends got them... but not so many so quickly."

Maroda sighed, "Sorry I don't know more, but...watch your back. Ain't much future for a guardian without a summoner, eh?"

Pacce jumped up and down, "What? What? Whatcha all talkin' 'bout?"

"We're talking about doing your job as a guardian!" Maroda said.

"Hey, I'm doing good! Right, big brother?"

Isaaru smiled and nodded at his youngest brother before turning back to us. "Please, be careful."

Tidus and I nodded. "Will do!"

They all started to leave, except for Pacce who was staring out into space.

Isaaru turned and yelled for his brother. "Pacce!"

Pacce shook his head, "Oh... What?"

"We're leaving!"

"Be right there!"

He ran to meet his brothers at the door and waved goodbye to us. "See ya!"

I smiled and waved back before I headed upstairs after Tidus. We met back up with everyone else before we entered the Trial.

Wakka stood before us. "All right! Guardians, at attention!"

"We are ready." Yuna said for everyone else and I nodded in agreement.

"All right... Let's do it!"

In just a couple minutes, we moved every sphere to the right slot and had gotten Yuna safely to the Chamber of the Fayth. We were waiting paitiently for her outside until someone else came into the room.

Dona.

"Well, well. You again. Still travelling with quite the crowd, I see." She said.

Barthello, being the ADD person he seems to be, left his woman and walked up to Auron and puts his fists on his hips.

Dona scoffed, "What is it, Barthello? You know this riffraff?"

"You are...Auron, no?" The sulky face man asked.

Auron cocked an eyebrow, "What of it?"

For some reason, Barthello began to flex his muscles like a guy you'd see on the cover of a fitness magazine.

"Can...I shake your hand? Auron-no, Sir Auron. You're the reason I became a guardian!"

I giggled, "He's worse than a fangirl."

Auron laughed and extended his hand and Barthello grabbed onto it like a fat kid going for cake.

"Thank you, sir! This means so much to me!"

Wakka looked at Dona, "Calling the personal guardian to Lord Braska riffraff?"

"And you call yourself a summoner?" Lulu added.

Tidus just had to add in a "Yeesh!"

Dona huffed, "Barthello, enough! Get back here!"

The man hung his head and trudged back over to his summoner. Tidus laughed and said, "Hang in there, buddy, eh?"

A few minutes later, Yuna came out into the room and collapsed onto her knees from exhaustion. Both Kimahri and I ran to her side.

Dona looked at Yuna in disgust. "You owe much to your father. All these guardians... and Sir Auron, too? And I hear Maester Seymour's quite taken with you. The world must look different when you're the daughter of Lord Braska."

I jumped up onto my feet, ready to deck Dona right in the face, but Yuna stopped me.

"This has nothing to do with my father! I am travelling on my own, as a full-fledged summoner!" She protested.

Dona raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is that so? Then try standing on your own two legs for once."

She walked past us and into the door to the chamber. "Your guardians won't be able to protect you when the time comes."

I looked at the dark woman who's figure faded away as the door closed behind her. I simply sneered and Yuna put her hands on my shoulders.

I nodded at her and we all walked downstairs to the main room of the temple.

"Lady Yuna! Please, help us heal the wounded!" One of the priests said to her.

Yuna smiled and nodded before walking into one of the back rooms of the temple. Everyone else decided to walk outside, but I followed Yuna.

The room was filled with wounded people lying on the beds and even the floor. I walked into the room slowly and stood beside Yuna, who was healing someone.

I watched as a bright, white light ran through her fingers and onto the sleeping form below. As she touched the man's face, he blinked and sat up straight.

"Thank you, m'lady!" He proclaimed.

Yuna smiled, "You're welcome."

He got up and walked away and I smiled at the summoner. "Wow, that was awesome."

She looked at me and grinned. "Thank you. Would you like me to show you how to heal others?"

"You think I'm capable of it?"

She nodded, "If you believe in yourself, it'll happen."

She grabbed me by the hand and pulled me toward another sick child who was lying on the floor. We kneeled down in front of the little girl and Yuna instructed me to put my hands out.

"Now, I want you to think about something positive, like a family member or friend. Then close your eyes and channel the positive through your fingers."

It sounded very confusing to me, but I nodded my head and concentrated. I thought about my parents, and my brothers. My childhood memories came flooding back to me. I smiled and closed my eyes.

Something else came into my mind.

Tidus.

I clenched my eyes shut and placed my fingers on the girl's forehead. I felt a jolt of energy blast through my body and out of my fingertips. A white light flooded the room and the little girl awoke.

"You, you saved me!" She said before hugging me.

I smiled and hugged her back, unbelieving what I had done. Yuna looked at me and smiled.

"You're a born natural." She told me.

"Thanks. I honestly don't know how I did it." I said.

"You're bond with whatever you thought about must be very strong." She said.

I put my finger and my chin and thought. Is my bond with Tidus really that strong? I don't think I'm that close with anyone else in my family.

I shrugged it off and continued helping Yuna heal the wounded warriors. This went on well into the night. I barely got any sleep.

All I could remember was walking into the hut outside and falling asleep on one of the beds. 


	21. Chapter 21: Someone in My Bed

**TIDUS'S POV**

I slept like a rock last night. I usually wake up the first time I hear something making noise in the night.

But this morning, I rolled over in the bed and my arm wrapped around something...or someone.

Wait, someone?

I quickly opened my eyes and sat up. Riley was lying in bed with me!

I wasn't sure whether to move or to stay still. I don't even remember her going to bed last night!

She was still wearing her shoes, so I guess she just stumbled in from working in the temple last night and crashed on the first bed she saw.

I looked around the room for some help, but everyone else was still asleep. Yuna wasn't here either.

I took a deep breath and laid back down in the bed. It still looked dark outside, so it must not be quite morning.

Riley stretched in the bed and rolled over, facing me. She laid her head on my chest and a smile crept onto her face.

Does she even realize who she's sleeping with?

I mean, of course I find her physically attractive and I love her personality, but does she feel the same way about me?

It's almost like she knows exactly what to say to make me calm down. I feel like I can actually be myself around her.

I carefully slid my arm around her body and pulled her close to me. She deserves a little break.

I relaxed and closed my eyes again. I would just try my best to wake up before anyone else later and sleep out before anyone sees with me in bed with her.

We don't need any drama on this trip.

**RILEY'S POV**

I woke up the next morning in an empty bed in the tent outside. I don't even remember leaving the temple.

I slowly sat up and noticed the sunshine coming from the outside world.

I stood up from the bed, walked outside and was instantly greeted by the rest of the group. Everyone was already awake, except for Yuna.

"Where's Yuna?" I asked.

"Still sleeping. We're not leaving until she wakes up." Wakka answered.

"Well, duhh. Why would we leave without the summoner?" I questioned.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Lulu put her hand on his mouth to stop him. We all laughed at the red head.

"I'm gonna go inside and see if she's up yet."

"I'll come with you!" Tidus said.

I smiled and nodded my head and together, we walked inside the temple. I could tell he was very nervous about something, but I couldn't tell what it was.

His face was unusually pink in the cheeks, almost like he was blushing.

"Tidus, are you okay?" I asked.

He looked down on me and smiled, "Uh, yeah! Why wouldn't I be?"

I shrugged, "Just wondering."

We walked into one of the chambers in the back of the temple and saw Yuna snoozing on the bed. This was the same room I had helped heal others in last night.

I approached the bed to wake her, but one of the priests stopped me.

"She should be awake soon. She was up a little bit longer than you were last night."

I shook my head. "Okay. Well, maybe we should come back later?" I said, motioning to Tidus.

He shook his head in agreement, so we began to leave the room. But right when my right foot was out the door, Yuna turned over on the bed and made a noise signaling that she was awake.

I turned around and smiled. "Morning, sunshine!"

She blinked a few times before shooting up out of bed. "Morning?"

Tidus laughed, "Calm down. Everyone's waiting patiently outside."

She began to run around the room, pulling on her boots and fixing her dress.

"But it's morning! I'm sorry! I'll be ready in just a moment!"

"Yuna, calm yourself! Take your time. We'll be outside waiting for you." I told her.

She nodded her head slightly and we left her to get ready.

"Man, she's always rushing, isn't she?" Tidus said.

I laughed, "Yeah, seems like it."

Before we walked outside to meet the others, he grabbed my arm.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"The reason I'm acting so weird is because last night you walked into the tent and laid in bed with me."

His words were so fast and blended together that I almost didn't understand what he said. My face turned bright red from embarassment.

"Oh my gosh. I am so sorry. I was so tired, I-I didn't know what I was thinking." I explained.

He let of of my arm slowly, "It's okay. I figured you were just out of it and you didn't wanna find a bed of your own."

My face cooled down and I took a deep breath. "Yeah, that must be what it was."

"Either that or you just wanted to feel me up in my sleep." He said with a smirk on his face.

I giggled and playfully hit his arm, "Yeah, that's definitely what happened. I just can't get enough of ya, Tidus."

We both laughed and I noticed he had a real blush on his cheeks. But what for?

The poor sunlight shone down on my skin as we walked back outside. But only seconds later, Yuna rushed through the doors after us and began to apologize.

"Really, there's no rush." Lulu started. "Here, your hair."

Yuna gasped and ran her fingers through her hair. She had little pieces sticking up everywhere.

Wakka gasped, "A summoner with bed hair! What's the world comin' to?" He asked.

We all gathered around Yuna and began to laugh. She huffed at us, "Hmm...what _is_ it today? Everyone's picking on me!"

We continued to laugh and she ran to Auron, who was playing it cool in the shadow of the temple.

But soon he began to chuckle, as well.

"You too, Sir Auron?" Yuna asked.

"Once Lady Yuna fixes her hair, we leave." He declared.

We all laughed as we watched Yuna try to fix her hair with her fingers. I helped her smooth it out, but it still looked pretty messy.

Anyways, we left Djose and crossed the stone bridge before running into Lucil and her crew.

"Off so early?" Lucil asked us. "Lady Yuna, you must be exhausted after working so hard last night. Will you be okay?"

Yuna chuckled and did the prayer gesture.

"I feel that I have rested enough. But, thank you for your kindness! Will you be leaving, too?"

"Yes, first we cross the Moonflow, and then we head north in search of chocobos to replace those we have lost."

Elma added to the conversation, "Once we find chocobos, our Mounted Forces will ride again!"

Then I realized something. That one guy with the bowl cut was missing.

"Huh? Aren't you missing someone?" I asked.

Right on que, he came running down the bridge towards us. "Captain! Waaaaait for meee!"

He stopped running and bent over, gasping for air.

Elma scolded him, "What took you so long? We're leaving!"

Clasko continued to pant, "You expect me to keep up with a chocobo!"

Lucil shook her head and ignored the other two. "Lady Yuna, I wish you good fortune. Elma! Clasko! Let's go!"

Elma saluted her captain, "Ma'am!"

Clasko's mouth dropped, "Eh! C-Can't I just rest a sec...?"

"No complaints!" Elma commanded.

They all ran off of the bridge and we walked after them. We soon found ourselves at the familiar fork in the road.

"Where to next?" Tidus asked.

"We cross the Moonflow." Lulu said.

He gave her a thumbs up, "Gotcha!"

"Moonflow, baby, here we come!" I declared as we walked down the other side of the road.

Up ahead I could see green grass, an orange sky and wildflowers along the dirt road. I coould already tell I was going to like our next destination. 


	22. Chapter 22: The Moonflow

I smiled as I breathed in the fresh air. The sky was a beautiful shade of orange and everything was calm.

"We've only been here for 3 seconds and I already love it." I said.

Everyone replied to me by giving me smiles or a chuckle. I kicked up some dirt on the road as I walked, making my black Converse a bit dirty.

I was loving this sunshine that was shining on my slightly tanned skin. And it seemed as though no one was on this road except for us.

Oh, hold that thought. Here comes Shelinda in all her sage green glory.

"Good day, everyone. We can all learn a lesson from what has happened to the Crusaders. Only the truly faithful have a hope of defeating Sin."

And just as she came, she left us skipping down the road with a goofy smile on her face.

"Uhh, that was random." I stated.

Tidus looked at me and nodded in agreement. The road bent towards the right and we followed it's path.

Soon enough, we spotted Kimahri's fellow Ronso "buddies" on the side of the path in the grass. As usual, they were pestering a much smaller human.

I clenched my fists. Those big bullies don't need to be messing with someone who's 2 times smaller than them.

I stomped my way over to them and yelled, "Hey!"

They both stopped bothering the man and looked directly at me.

"Look! One of Kimahri's friends. Looks just like him."

"What did you just say?" I asked with a bit of attitude.

"Both follow summoners on all fours! Hornless goatlings!"

Yenke laughed along with his friend, "Hornless! Hornless!"

Before I could lunge myself at the giant, furry beasts, Kimahri came up beside me and pushed me out of the way, gently.

"You come to insult Kimahri?"

Biran shook his head, "Wrong. We come to warn little Kimahri."

"Summoners disappear. Never return." Yenke agreed.

Biran pointed to Yuna. "Next will be Kimahri's summoner."

"Poor Kimahri! Lost his horn, next lose his summoner!"

"Pitiful Kimahri! Howl alone! Howl alone!"

These Ronso must have a tendency of repeating themselves constantly. But before I could say something to them, they ran away laughing.

"Do those two got something against you?" Tidus asked.

Kimahri hung his head and shook his head as if he was saying, "No."

"What, they were just picking on you?" I asked.

"Kimahri will deal with them."

"And I'll help!" Tidus and I both said.

We both glanced at each other and smiled slightly.

The blue cat shook his head, "Kimahri alone."

I huffed, "But Kimahri..."

Wakka stepped in and crossed his arms. "It's Kimahri's problem. We can't interfere. It's a rule."

"I'm worried." Lulu suddenly said.

"Let the Ronso deal with Ronso problems, ya? That's how it's always been."

Lulu sighed and shook her head, "I mean I'm worried about those summoners disappearing."

"They aren't just disappearing into thin air." Auron said.

"But hey, if we guardians do our job then there's no problem, right?" I said with confidence.

Wakka's eyes grew wide, "Whoa!"

Lulu smiled, "Confident."

Tidus shook his head in agreement, "Yeah!"

I smiled, "Well, it's the truth! If we keep our eyes on Yuna and our surroundings at all times, then there's nothing to worry about!"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Even Yuna, who was being surprisingly quiet. It seemed strange to me, but I didn't wanna pester her about whatever may be bugging her.

We continued down the road and crossed through what seemed like woods. The sun was shaded by the numerous trees that were placed on both sides of the path.

But quickly, the sun was back into view, along with a giant river.

I gasped in wonder as I approached the clear, blue water that stretch for miles and miles. I kneeled down in front of the shore and gazed at the water.

"This is the Moonflow." Lulu said from behind me.

Yuna knelt down beside me and I could see the smile spread across her face.

"These are moonlilies! They say that clouds of pyreflies gather here when night falls."

I followed her eyes and spotted the dark purple, lilac flowers that sat upon lilypads in the water. Pyreflies ascended from the petals as I reached out to softly touch them.

"The entire river glows, like a sea of stars." Lulu said.

I could tell Tidus was just as into the Moonflow as I was. He sat down beside me to see the flowers and shot his eyes up to meet mine.

"Really? Wow. Hey, I got an idea!"

"We're not waiting 'til nightfall." Auron said, suddenly.

Tidus and I both frowned and pouted.

"Aww, but I really wanna see the glowing river."

"Then, once we beat Sin, we're coming back!" Tidus said.

I smiled and nodded my head to him. "Good idea!"

I'm not sure if it was a moment that just the two of us were having, but everyone else got strangely quiet.

It was a nice, peaceful silence at first. But then it became fairly awkward. Wakka took note of this and cleared his throat.

"Hey, we better hurry or we'll miss the shoopuf!"

I stared up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Shoopuf? That some kind of boat?"

Yuna laughed at me and pulled me up onto my feet. "Wait until you see it!"

She grabbed ahold of my hand and dragged me down the riverfront towards the dock.

"This must be pretty impressive if it's worth losing my hand!"

Yuna stopped and wrinkled her eyebrows to show her confusion. I sighed and pointed at my hand, which was nearly white from the massive strength she was using to get me to follow her.

She let go of me quickly and giggled, "Oops. Sorry. I'm just really excited is all."

I smiled and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "No problem. Now, where's that snowpoof?"

"Shoopuf!" Yuna yelled, correcting me.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

We walked towards the dock and I stopped dead in my tracks. On the side of the dock was a HUGE elephant-like creature, except it was much bigger than an ordinary elephant.

It had a long, skinny truck that curled up into a curly Q shape.

"Wh-What is that?" I asked.

"That's the shoopuf!" Yuna answered.

My mouth dropped open. "We get to ride on _that_?" I asked.

She smiled and nodded her head. I just stared up at the giant beast ahead of me and my mouth curled into an excited smile.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's ride!"

The rest of the group caught up with us and Wakka put his hand on my shoulder.

"All right! We board soon as we're ready, ya?"

Everyone nodded their heads and went their seperate ways to prepare for the rest of the journey. As usual, Tidus and I stayed close together.

But instead of gawking at the hot blonde beside of me, I was staring at the shoopuf.

Oddly enough, I noticed a small scar on it's leg. I squinted my eyes and looked closely at the indent.

"Aww, what happened to its leg?" I asked no one in particular.

Tidus came up beside me and squinted as well. "Hey, yeah. I see it, too."

"Ten years ago..."

I turned around and saw Auron standing behind the two of us.

Tidus had already recognized his voice, so there was no need in him turning around.

"A history lesson?"

The man chuckled, "Jecht saw his first shoopuf here. Surprised, he drew his blade and struck it."

I cocked an eyebrow in question. "Why?"

"He was drunk... thought it was a fiend."

"Oh, brother..." Tidus trailed off.

"We offered all the money we had as an apology. Jecht never drank again. But, it would seem that shoopuf still works here."

I looked at Tidus after Auron was out of earshot. "Hey, Jecht is your dad...right?"

He huffed, "Unfortunately."

I frowned, "Oh, I'm sorry."

He looked at me and smiled slightly, "It's alright. Hey, let's go get on the shoopuf."

I nodded my head and together, we walked up the dock to one of the numerous Hypello that were in the area.

"Ride ze shoopuf?" He asked.

I giggled. I loved the way Hypello talked. Tidus tried to hide his smile and said, "Yeah! Let us on!"

"All aboards!" The frog-like creature shouted.

Everyone in our party got onto the lift that put us onto the shoopuf's back. It felt kind of unstable, but as long as I didn't do anything stupid, I knew I'd be okay.

It was good knowing that I could relax a little bit now, knowing that we were all together in the small space on the beast's back.

"Shoopuf launchin'!" The driver shouted as he grabbed ahold of the reins. The shoopuf took this as his que to move and we began to travel across the river.

In the square center, Tidus and I sat beside each other, with Wakka on his other side and Kimahri on mine. Tidus was maybe a little too close for comfort, but I wasn't complaining.

I laid my head back on the seat and closed my eyes. The sound of the rushing water and the gentle breeze began to serenade me to sleep.

But, the peace didn't last long. Wakka nudged me and said, "Hey. Take a look."

I opened my eyes and looked over the edge of the 'boat' and gasped. "Whooooaaa."

Below the water was rubble of buildings that were destroyed. Pieces of metal and brick gathered at the bottom of the river. Every piece was covered in algae. It basically looked like the sunken city of Atlantis.

"A machina city. A thousand years old! They built the city on top of bridges across the river." Wakka explained.

Lulu added into his explanation. "But the weight of the city caused the bridges to collapse, and it all sank to the bottom."

Wakka nodded, "Right. It's a good lesson."

"A lesson?" I asked.

"Yeah. Why build a city over a river, ya?"

I face palmed and shook my head in disappointment. Was he trying to crack a joke?

"Uh... Well, it would be convenient, with all that water there." Tidus said.

"Nope, that's not why. They just wanted to prove they could defy the laws of nature!"

"Of course they did." I grumbled.

"Yevon has taught us: When humans have power, they seek to use it. If you don't stop them, they go too far, ya?"

I rolled my eyes at his preaching. I hope I'm defying the Ten Commandments by listening to all this Yevon nonsense.

"Yeah, but don't you use machina, too? Like the stadium and stuff, right?" Tidus asked.

"Yevon, it decides... which machina we may use, and which we may not." Lulu elaborated.

I crossed my arms. "That just sounds ignorant to me."

Wakka glared at me, but Tidus saved me from the impending lecture I was about to receive.

"So, uh, what kind of machina may we not use, then?"

Wakka looked back at the blonde. "Remember Operation Mi'ihen? That kind."

"Or war will rage again."

"War?" I asked.

Yuna spoke up, "More than a thousand years ago... mankind waged war using machina to kill!"

"They kept building more and more powerful machina."

"They made weapons so powerful... it was thought they could destroy the entire world."

"Whoa. That's some scary stuff. Back in my home, no one would be smart enough to think of something that deadly."

Yuna continued, "The people feared that Spira would be destroyed."

"But the war did not stop!" Wakka exclaimed.

"Wh-What happened then?" Tidus asked in interest.

"Sin came, and it destroyed the cities and their machina."

"The war ended... and our reward... was Sin." Lulu concluded.

"So, Sin's our punishment for lettin' things get out of hand, eh?"

Tidus relaxed beside me. "Man, that's rough."

"Yeah, it is." Wakka said.

I rested my elbows on my knees. "But, it's not like the machina are bad. Right?"

"Only as bad as their users." Lulu answered.

"It's because of people like the Al Bhed screwin' everything up!" Wakka said while pounding his hand on the seat.

We all rolled our eyes at the red head and his crazy theory. I was about to scold him for always blaming people he doesn't even know whenever the shoopuf began to shake.

The driver stopped the beast and looked around. "Whatsh could thatsh be?"

For some reason, everyone stood up in the cabin and looked around as well. Auron looked at Yuna and commanded her to sit down.

Yuna covered her mouth and said, "S-Sorry!"

All of a sudden, a man jumped into the cabin and grabbed Yuna. He jumped back off of the shoopuf.

I gasped and without thinking, dove head first into the murky water.

I couldn't let them get away with Yuna right after I had given the pep talk to everyone about doing the job right.

I was not about to be called a hypocrite.


	23. Chapter 23: Blondes are Always Bubbly

**Hello, everyone! Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter out. :/**

**School is crazy and I have a serious case of the lazies. Lol.**

**From here on out, the chapters are going to be longer and filled with more 'drama.'**

**So, on with the story! :D  
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In an instant, I hopped over the rail of the shoopuf's back and landed toes first into the water. I was followed suit by diving into the water.

I opened my eyes briefly, but quickly shut them again. All the bubbles and mechanical debris from the ancient city was circulating throughout the water.

I blinked a few times and finally opened my eyes before darting downwards with the boys.

We approached a machina that held Yuna captive on top in a glass sphere. She held her staff in her hand, ready to fight along with us.

"Don't worry Yuna, we'll save you!" Wakka managed to yell.

The three of us grabbed our weapons and began to hammer away at the machine. It retaliated by simply shooting darts at us. No big deal.

I was still surprised that my guns could work underwater.

I kept looking at Yuna to make sure we weren't hurting her with our blows, but she remained unharmed it seemed.

However, I kept hearing someone grunting and yelping in pain. I looked around and saw that it was none of us.

_'It must be all in my head.' _I thought.

After a few more slashes and bullets, Wakka used his overdrive to whack the machina with his ball of lightning.

The foe didn't seem to like that at all. It rose up into the water above us and launched missiles at us!

I managed to swim out of the way in time to dodge the attack. Tidus, wasn't so lucky.

He lay in the water, limp. A surge of anger swept through me. I grabbed both of my guns and fired a thousand bullets straight into the core of the machina.

In that instant, it began to spark and quiver. It exploded into a billion pieces and bubbles scattered everywhere. Yuna managed to escape and she swam back up to the surface.

Wakka shook my shoulder to grab my attention. I shook my head and he looked at me in confused.

I guess I didn't really know my own strength.

He pulled out a potion from his pocket and threw it above Tidus' body. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and sat back up.

He smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up. He could probably tell that I was worried about him.

Together, the three of us swam back up to the shoopuf and hopped back onto the platform.

"Are you hurt?" Lulu asked.

Of course she was really asking Yuna instead of us other three.

"No, I'm fine." Yuna responded.

"Grrah! Those Al Bhed!" Wakka cried out in frustration.

The driver turned his head as far as he could and looked at us.

"Ish ebullibody okay?"

Yuna took this as her time to apologize, like she usually does. "I'm sorry! We're all okay now!"

"Yuna!" We all yelled.

She gasped and sat back down in her seat immediately.

"Shoopuf full shpeed aheads!"

We all sat back down and tried to relax into our former positions again. I took my hair in my hands and twisted it to dry to get the water out.

We were all in an awkward silence until Wakka went on his rampage.

"Damn the Al Bhed! What do they want from us? Could it have something to do with Luca? What are they after Yuna for? Wait! They're mad they lost the tournament! Or, wait! They're mad about Operation Mi'ihen!"

I loved all the accusations he was making. But most of all, I felt bad for Yuna. It can't be easy having your best friend knocking on your own people.

Lulu put her finger to her chin in thought. "I wonder... Didn't Kimahri's clansmen say something... about summoners...disappearing?"

Wakka shot up from his seat. "Ah! So the Al Bhed are behind that! Those sand-blasted grease monkeys!"

Tidus lifted his hand to speak. I could tell he was feeling sorry for Yuna, too. "Hey, Wakka. It's no use complaining about the Al Bhed now, right? We'll protect Yuna from anyone, anywhere. It's that easy. That's all I need to know!"

Wakka sat back down and sighed. "Well... I guess so."

Lulu shook her head, "You're right."

I looked over at Yuna, who was smiling. She was staring googly eyes at Tidus and mouthed the words 'thank you.'

I looked at Tidus only to find him staring back at me. His hair was dripping wet and so was his skin.

My body shivered and I noticed him slip his arm around my shoulders.

"You cold?"

I nodded my head in agreement and I noticed him sigh before looking away.

I wondered what it was about, but I ignored it. However, he didn't bother to take his arm off of me.

No one really thought anything of it, it seemed. But I knew that wasn't true for at least two of us.

"So, Riley. How about that overdrive down there, huh?" Wakka said.

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "Uhh, what?"

"You know, when you shot all those bullets into that machina. I think that was your overdrive."

I smiled slightly, "That's awesome! But, how do I know when it's gonna happen?"

"Usually your overdrives happen whenever you have a drastic change in emotions. Tell me, did you suddenly become angry while down in that water?"

I looked at Lulu and my smile drooped. I remembered the anger I felt whenever I saw Tidus lying there...nearly lifeless.

But before I could answer, the shoopuf stopped moving and the driver ushered us off the lift. We all stepped off onto the ground and looked around the wharf.

Of course Yuna instantly became surrounded with people and the rest of us stood there to guard her.

Eventually, Tidus and I got bored, so we decided to go ahead down the road towards the next town.

We walked side by side with my hands behind my head and his hands in his pockets. We had reached the point in our relationship where it was comfortable for us to be silent like this with each other.

"Hey, listen. I'm sorry about what happened in the water. I wasn't paying attention. I should've moved out of the way. I'm sorry that I scared you." He suddenly blurted out.

I looked over at him and chuckled. "No, I'm sorry. I should've done something for you instead of going crazy on that machina."

He removed his hands from his pocket and put one on my back. "I would've rather had you did your awesome attack and destroy the enemy then to worry about me and put yourself in more danger."

We stopped walking and faced each other. I smiled at him and took hold of his free hand.

He didn't seem to mind, because he returned the smile and slowly moved his hand down my back to my hip.

But before anything else could happen, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.

I turned my head and saw someone lying on the ground on the water's shore.

"Oh my gosh! Tidus, look!" I instructed.

I pointed to the body and we both ran over to it. I bent down cautiously and reached out to touch its head.

Right before I could do that, the body sprung up onto its knees.

I screamed and fell backwards onto my butt and held out my hands to stop it from coming any closer to me.

"You're...not dead?" Tidus asked.

The person stood up slowly and grabbed her back. I stood up and backed into Tidus.

We both watched as the person unzipped their uniform to reveal wet skin covered by an orange shirt with blue ribbons hanging in the back, bright green shorts and boot-like shoes.

The person, who turned out to be a girl, had short blonde hair that was pulled back into a high ponytail with bangs.

Actually, she didn't look any older than me.

After shedding her uniform, she fell back onto her knees and sighed.

"Thought I was done for, back there." She said.

Tidus smiled and ran up to the girl.

"Rikku! You're Rikku! Hey! You're okay! How you been?"

The girl shook her head and said, "Terrible!"

He crouched down and took a closer look at her while I kept my distance.

"Yeah, you don't look so good. What happened?"

Rikku looked up and pointed at both of us. "You beat me up, remember?"

Tidus opened his mouth to be retort, but I interrupted him.

"Oh! That machina was you?"

She nodded her head at me before standing up. She groaned and placed a hand on her forehead before taking a step closer to me.

"That really hurt, you know. You big meanie!"

Tidus stood back up and stood in between us. "W-Wait! But you attacked us!"

The spunky blonde put her hands on her hips and looked at him carefully. "Nah-uh. It's not exactly what you think."

"Yo!" We heard in the distance. Wakka and the rest of the group walked down the road towards our pow-wow.

Wakka came running towards us and looked at Rikkus.

"Friend of yours?"

Tidus scratched his head, "Uh, you could say that."

Rikku put on a big smile and looked at Wakka. "Pleased to meet you! I'm Rikku!"

Tidus looked between all of us and hesitated.

"Riley, Yuna, Lulu... I told you about her, remember? She was the one who helped me before I was washed up on Besaid! She's an Al Bhe..beh..."

I covered up his mouth before he could finish his sentence. I had heard enough of Wakka's Al Bhed criticism.

But Wakka went on as though nothing had happened.

"Wow, so you, like, owe her your life! What luck meeting here, ya? Praise be to Yevon!"

"He did the prayer gesture to her before standing back up straight. I noticed that Rikku looked confused at his action.

She definitely had to be an Al Bhed.

"So, uh... Rikku... You look a little beat up! You okay?" Wakka asked.

I sort of giggled and Lulu distracted him. "Uh, Wakka..."

"Huh? What?"

Yuna looked at me and Rikku before responding.

"There's something we need to discuss."

Wakka nodded his head, "Oh, go ahead."

"Girls only! Boys please wait over there!" Rikku said.

"Right. Sorry, Wakka." I said.

I uncovered Tidus' mouth as the four of us wandered over to the side of the river bank.

"Rikku, do you know a man named Cid?" Yuna asked.

Rikku sighed and shook her head. "Unfortunately, he's my father."

Yuna and I smiled at each other.

"Bingo." I said.

"So, then. We must be related." Yuna said.

Rikku smiled brightly and gazed at Yuna. "Is your mother my dad's brother?"

Yuna nodded her head and Rikku cheered.

Lulu went on to business. "Of course, you must know then, Rikku. Yuna needs to meet Cid. Can you take us to him?"

"Absolutely!" She replied.

"So, it's decided. Welcome to the team, Rikku!" I said, welcoming her.

She smiled at me with her bright green eyes. I could've guessed she was an Al Bhed just by looking at her eyes. All Al Bhed people had those green eyes.

We disbanded from our group and returned to our boys. I walked over to Rikku and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry about shooting you and stuff back there."

She looked at me and laughed, "Don't worry about it. You were doing your job as a guardian."

We all watched as Yuna approahed the 'boss' of the group.

"Sir Auron... I would like Rikku to be my guardian."

Auron didn't hesitate to walk over to Rikku and peer down on her through his glasses.

"Show me your face."

I giggled at his request and Rikku tilted her head to the side.

"Look at me."

"Oh, okay." She said.

She closed her eyes and pointed her head towards the sky.

Auron grunted quietly.

"Open your eyes."

She opened only one of her eyes and the shiny green color was revealed to him.

"As I thought." He said simply.

Rikku quickly opened both of her eyes and followed him. "Um... No good?"

"Are you certain?" He asked.

She shook her head eagerly and saluted him with two fingers. "A hundred percent! So, anyway... Can I?"

Auron shrugged his shoulders. "If Yuna wishes it."

What a terrible boyfriend Auron would make.

"Yes, I do." Yuna said, smiling.

Auron seemed to be getting fed up with us, so he walked down the path without us.

Tidus took up for the blonde girl. "Rikku's a good girl. She helped me a bunch!"

"Well, I'm for it! The more, the merrier!" Wakka said.

"Then I'll just have to be the merriest!" Rikku declared.

I didn't really understand it. Rikku was a very peppy and happy girl, it seemed, but she was also an Al Bhed.

Wakka doesn't know she's an Al Bhed, but I can tell he already likes her. But if he knew she was an Al Bhed, it would be nothing but downhill spirals from here on out.

I guess this is just one more secret I'm going to have to keep.


	24. Chapter 24: Guadosalam

We were on our way to Guadosalam. Better known as the city of the Guado.

I was excited to hear that we were about halfway through our journey. But somehow, I knew we weren't anywhere close to defeating Sin.

But I was staying on the positive side of things.

Speaking of positive things, that Rikku girl is so optimistic! I admire her happy-go-lucky attitude. Plus, she's a thief. That gives her a badass edge to her sweet innocence. Even though she's a year younger than me, I can tell she's been through a lot in her life. Tidus did say that she saved him when she first came to Spira.

Somehow, I feel grateful to her for that. I'm not sure why, though.

We reached the entrance of the city and I was shocked to see how small it was. It kind of reminded me of the inside of a tree. There were branches sprouting everywhere and roots were visible on the ground.

I looked around the small town and noticed an unfamiliar face approaching us.

"We have been expecting you, Lady Yuna. Welcome to Guadosalam. This way, my lady. This way."

Yuna pointed to herself and asked, "Me?"

But the guado reached out with his large hand and attempted to grab her arm. Wakka wasn't having it, so he extended his arm in front of Yuna to stop him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

The guado pulled back his arm and bowed, "Oh, I beg your pardon. I am called Tromell Guado. I am in the direct service of our leader, the great Seymour Guado. Lord Seymour has very important business with Lady Yuna."

I made a slight gagging noise that only Tidus heard. He turned his head towards me and smirked. God, that smirk of his does something to me.

"Business with me? Whatever could it be, I wonder?" Yuna asked.

Tromell nodded his head, "Please, come inside the manor. All will be explained. Of course, your friends are also welcome."

He began to walk towards a set of large, red doors and nearly everyone else followed. Rikku and I trailed behind.

"He isn't a pushover or anything." I muttered.

"I know! Twist our arms, why don't ya?" She responded a little louder.

I giggled, "You aren't afraid to speak your mind, are you?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Not at all! If I got something to say, then I'm gonna say it."

I gave her a high five, "I'm with you on that one!"

This girl reminded me of myself in a lot of ways, it wasn't even funny. We caught up with the rest of the group and walked into Seymour's manor. Just walking in that place gave me chills.

There were two staircases on each side of the room leading up to a room upstairs. Pictures lined the walls, or tree, by the stairs. The men in the pictures all looked alike to me.

But then again, all Guado people look the same to me.

"This way, please." Tromell called us.

He led us into a new room that looked like a banquet hall. There were tables covered with food and couches along the sides of the room. It looked very homey.

"I will go inform Lord Seymour. Please wait here."

And then we were back to how we started. The eight of us in the room, just waiting.

"Stay on your guard." Auron told me.

I looked at him. "It's always up whenever that Seymour guy is around."

He chuckled at me, "Good. You're a smart kid."

I smiled, "Thanks."

I left him to talk with Tidus and walked over to Yuna and Kimahri.

Yuna looked to me and smiled weakly. I smiled back at her and gave her a hug.

"It'll be okay. We'll be out of here in no time and back on the pilgrimage."

She returned my hug and looked at me deeply. "I-I hope you are right. I just want to know what Maester Seymour wants with me."

"Truly, it is good to have guests again. Since Lord Jyscal passed away, these halls have been too quiet."

Where did he come from? He scared the crap out of me!

Yuna let go of me and walked over to Tromell.

"The death of Lord Jyscal was a great loss for all of Spira." She said.

I crossed my arms. "Who's Lord Jyscal?" I asked myself quietly.

I didn't want to start a wave of questions of how I didn't know. I'm surprised I've gone this far with only asking a few questions of Spira and its past.

"Was this Maester Jyscal really such a great guy?" I heard Tidus ask Wakka.

I decided to join them in their conversation so I could hear all about this Jyscal guy.

"He brought the teachings of Yevon to the Guado. He was truly a great man." Wakka explained.

"Truly, a loss for us all. But now a new leader, Lord Seymour, has come before us." Tromell started. "Lord Seymour is the child of a Guado and a human. He will be the tie that binds our two races together. But that is not all, I think. Lord Seymour... He will surely become the shining star that lights the way for all the peoples of Spira."

"That is enough, Tromell."

I jumped nearly ten feet in the air whenever Seymour walked into the room. How are these Guado so quiet?

Tidus must've noticed my jump because he snickered in my direction. I playfully slapped him on the arm to make him stop.

It didn't work.

"Must I always endure such praise?" Seymour asked.

"Not from me." I muttered under my breath.

Thankfully, no one heard me. The blue haired man went on to salute us with the prayer gesture before giving a hearty "Welcome!"

Yuna approached him slowly, like a timid child. "You...wanted to see me?"

"Please, make yourselves at home. There's no rush." Seymour said, completely ignoring Yuna's question.

Auron huffed, "Please keep this short. Yuna must rush."

I nodded right along said him. I know we need to rush, but I also just want out of this place as soon as possible.

"Pardon me. It has been a long time since I had guests. Lady Yuna, this way."

We all followed him into another section of the room, where he showed us a sphere. All of a sudden, the room turned completely black. I took a step forward and from my footprint, the floor turned into the night sky.

There were shooting stars and planets all around us.

"Wow..." I breathed.

Everyone was in awe over this sphere. It just seemed so real.

"This sphere is a reconstruction created from the thoughts of the dead on the Farplane." Seymour explained.

I turned around to get a full of the entire scene. But it soon changed into a bustling street full of people pushing to get some place. There was someone speaking over an intercom in the distance and bright lights shone on every inch of the ground. It looked just like Las Vegas.

"Zanarkand!"Tidus shouted.

I looked at him. His eyes showed shock and happiness. This was the place where he came from. I never realized how similar it was to my home.

Seymour nodded his head. "Correct. Zanarkand... as it looked one thousand years ago. The great and wondrous machina city, Zanarkand. She once lived in this metropolis."

"She, who?" Yuna and I both asked.

He never answered either of us, but he didn't need to. In a flash, the sphere took us to another room.

We were in someone's bedroom. A woman with long, white hair sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her hands. She only wore a bikini and it revealed way too much.

"Lady Yunalesca!"

Seymour nodded, "She was the first person to defeat Sin and save the world from its ravages. And you have inherited her name."

Now it made sense. I always thought Yuna was a pretty but strange name.

"It was my father who named me." Yuna said.

"Lord Braska was entrusting you with a great task. He wanted you to face Sin, as Lady Yunalesca did. However, Lady Yunalesca did not save the world alone. To defeat the undefeatable Sin... it took an unbreakable bond of love-of the kind that binds two hearts for eternity."

Just then, another man walked into the room wearing a large crown and a cape. He looked like some kind of samurai warrior.

I stepped forward to get a closer look at him, but he walked right through me! I stumbled a little bit before landing right on my heels.

"Huh?" I asked.

I didn't even feel anything, yet it almost knocked me over. How strange.

I turned around to watch the man walk towards Yunalesca. She stood up and fell into the arms of the man. I guess they're lovers by the way they looked into each other's eyes.

That was the way I wished Tidus and I could be. I looked over towards the blonde and caught him staring right back at me. I blushed and turned my attention to Yuna, who was exchanging looks with Seymour.

I raised an eyebrow in question whenever he leaned over and whispered something to her. I figured it wasn't anything special, but that theory changed when she covered her mouth and gasped.

And just like that, we were back in the foyer of the manor. Yuna approached us and frantically looked around. She grabbed hold of a glass of water and chugged the entire thing in seconds.

"Uhh, are you okay?" I asked.

She set the glass down and sighed heavily.

"Wow! Your face is beet red!" Rikku said while sticking her finger in Yuna's face.

We all got in her face until she finally looked at us and stumbled for words.

"He...he asked me to marry him!"

Everyone's jaws dropped.

"You serious?" Tidus asked.

Auron looked at Seymour as though he was the girl's father. "You know what Yuna must do."

He nodded. "Of course. Lady Yuna-no, all summoners-are charged with bringing peace to Spira. But this means more than just defeating Sin. She must ease the suffering of all Spira. She must be a leader for the people. I proposed to Lady Yuna as a maester of Yevon."

"Spira is no playhouse. A moment's diversion may amuse the audience, but it changes nothing." Auron retorted.

"Even so, the actors must play their parts."

I crinkled my nose. Actors? What's that supposed to mean?

Seymour walked over to Yuna and placed his hand on her shoulder. "There's no need to answer right away. Please, think it over."

"We will do so, then. We leave." Auron announced.

The Guado nodded his head. "Lady Yuna, I await your favorable reply."

He walked towards the lobby, but stopped beside of Auron. He sniffed the air slightly and gave Auron a confused look.

"Why are you still here, sir?" He asked.

Auron gave no reply and it became silent as we all stared at the men.

Seymour bowed before Auron and apologized."I beg your pardon. We Guado are keen to the scent of the Farplane."

Seymour left the room and we all looked at each other in confusion. Tidus walked up to Auron and began to sniff him. Auron huffed in agitation and pushed the blonde away before walking outside.

We all followed suit and met at a fountain outside of the manor. It was quiet for us. Especially the eight of us. I guess no one knew how to take in the news.

Lulu broke the silencec. "Yuna, the high summoner's daughter. Seymour, the leader of the Guado. Married in the name of Yevon, overcoming the barriers of race. It would give Spira something cheery to talk about, for a change."

"Sounds just like a passin' daydream, like Auron says." Wakka said.

"Come on, let's just get on with the pilgrimage! I mean, marriage?" Tidus added.

"Hmmm. Jealous?" Rikku asked.

"What? No way! We gotta defeat Sin. Romance can wait!"

I didn't even really want to question if Tidus was actually jealous or not, and I didn't want to know. My thoughts on that subject could wait until later.

"I agree with Tidus. I mean, even if I did approve of this marriage, which I don't, I would say to wait until Sin is dead and gone." I said.

We all let our opinions sink in a few moments before Wakka sighed. "He sure picked a fine time to lay this one on us."

"Maybe it is a fine time." Yuna replied.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

She nodded, "If my getting married would help Spira... if it would make people happy... If I could do that for people... maybe I should do what I can. I never imagined doing anything like this. But, I won't answer till I know what's right."

Tidus paused before giving a totally confused face. "Seriously?"

Rikku shrugged her shoulders, "You could always just quit your pilgrimage and get married."

"I will...go on. I'm sure that Lord Seymour will understand."

"Umm, I guess so..." Rikku replied.

Yuna stood up and held her head high. "I am a summoner! I must fight and defeat Sin."

"Like Braska before you." Auron spoke.

This was the point where I just wanted to say, 'But how can you marry that freak of nature?'

Something about this whole situation just wasn't matching up. He's only seen Yuna maybe, what, three times? And he wants to get married?

Is that how people in Spira have relationships?

"I'm going to the Farplane. I'm going to see my father and think on this."

"Go on, we'll be right behind you." Lulu told her.

Oh great, now we get to see dead people. This day just gets better and better.


	25. Chapter 25: The Farplane

As we walked up to the upper level of the town, I shivered.

Dead people? Are we seriously going to see _dead_ people?

I mean, it's kinda cool when you think about it. But it's also very creepy.

"Question! About this Farplane... when somebody dies, a summoner sends them to the Farplane, right? So their souls, or whatever they are, they go to the Farplane, right? But that's the Farplane we're going to, right? And Yuna's old man's there, too? Do dead people live there or something?"

Tidus asked the exact thing that I was thinking. If there was one thing I didn't understand about Spira, it was their connection with the dead.

I noticed Tidus shudder and I giggled slightly.

Wakka noticed it, too. "You're thinking those funny thoughts again, ya?"

Tidus didn't nod, but he giggled and scratched the back of his head. It gave away the fact that he didn't understand any of this either.

"You'll see once we get there." Wakka said.

We continued walking through the nicely lit tunnel and made it to a staircase leading to a portal.

It was so cold here, like in a morgue. The portal shone a bright blue color, as well as the stairs.

I began to climb the stairs whenever I noticed I was the only one left besides Tidus, Rikku and Auron.

I turned and looked at Auron, who was leaning against the railing.

"Aren't you coming?" I asked him.

"I do not belong there." He said quietly.

"You're scared!" Tidus declared.

Auron sighed. "Searching the past to find the future... this is all that is there. I need it not. You'd better be going."

I turned back to the portal and shivered. I really didn't want to go, but what other chance would I get?

Rikku approached me and placed her hand on my shoulder. "You're not really going to see the dead, more like your memories of them. People think of their relatives and the pyreflies react to them. They take on the form of the dead person-an illusion, nothing else."

I nodded to her and thanked her. I admit, that did make me feel a little better.

"Well, have fun!" She said.

"What, you're not going either, Rikku?" Tidus asked.

She shook her head in response, "I keep my memories inside. Memories are nice, but that's all they are."

She did have a good point. But, what if you aren't ready to give up your memories?

I shook my head and tapped on the portal. My finger went completely through it, so I concluded that my entire body could go through it as well. I gently stepped through and pushed through the force field of energy.

As soon as I crossed over into the Farplane, my mind was filled with overwhelming emotions. I felt them all. Happiness, sadness, shock, anxiety, you name it.

I walked up onto the stone platform before me. The rest of the group was here.

I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and Tidus was there with a surprised look on his face. "What the...?"

Wakka was looking at an image of a man who looked like a mix between himself and Tidus. I was guessing it to be his brother, Chappu.

Yuna is looking at images of her parents. A man with a large robe and long hair stood beside an older version of Yuna.

I walked up to the edge of the platform and gazed at the world behind the platform. "Whoa..."

Below the stone platform, a massive formation of clouds was together in a swirling vortex, sucking them downwards. Beyond that, a field of bright green grass and different flowers was in plain view and a series of pyreflies were floating by. Rushing waterfalls were placed carefully around the fields of flowers.

It was like looking into a painting. It was a place I would only imagine in my dreams.

But I couldn't help but feel sad. I looked at Yuna's parents and smiled slightly. They seemed so happy together. Seeing them together like that, with their arms around each other, made me homesick.

I began to think about my parents more and more. I wish there was a way I could let them know I'm okay.

But most of all, it made me sad because maybe this would set Yuna's decision in stone. Seeing her parents happy like that, maybe that will make her take Seymour up on his offer.

I sighed and walked over to Wakka. I watched as he began to talk to his brother for what seemed like the first time in years.

"Yo, Chappu! Meant to come see you earlier, ya? Sorry! I know you won't hold it against me. I gave up the game. I'm a guardian from here on, you know? This guy-looks a lot like you-showed up. Travelling with him, I thought, maybe... you were still alive somewhere, ya?"

The redhead sighed. "But, then again, here you are on the Farplane. Guess your place is here. So, how you been? Oh, that guy I just told you 'bout, I gave him your sword. He likes it."

I put my finger on my chin and thought. Is the man he's talking about Tidus?

Suddenly, the blonde boy walked up beside me and crossed his arms. "Is he talking about me?" He asked.

I looked back and forth between Tidus and the ghost of Chappu. "You two do look kinda similar. And I don't know who else he would've gave the sword to."

Tidus held up his blue sword called Brotherhood. It began to glow a bright white color before it died down and lost its glow.

"Well, that was nice." I said.

Tidus shrugged before putting his sword back and giving me a smile. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

I walked over to Lulu and stood beside her. Without a word, she sighed and looked at me.

"He is dead, and I am still alive. Coming here really makes that clear. I should focus more on what I have to do now."

I nodded, "I guess you're right."

She nodded to me and began to chuckle.

"What?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I'm not even sure what I'm saying."

"Don't you mean that you should leave Chappu behind? I'm sure he was a great guy, but there'll be others."

"Hmm... That's a possibility."

Apparently Tidus was eavesdropping on our conversation, because he popped up beside us and added to our conversation. "How about... Wakka?"

Lulu blinked a few times before looking at the blonde in disbelief. "What, me? With Wakka?"

"Yeah, you two get along great!" I added before giggling.

She shook her head. "Getting along isn't enough. Not even close."

"Oh, sorry. My mistake." He said.

"You'd do well to remember that. Knowing a bit about women might come in handy some day."

I laughed and Lulu smirked at me.

"Yeah, I'll remember." He replied with a bit of apathy in his voice.

The three of us turned to Wakka and his brother to watch them converse.

"I won't be forgetting either." Lulu suddenly said.

"Goodbye, Chappu. You always said I looked grumpy. But those were the happiest days of my life."

I shivered again as I watched Wakka talk with his dead brother. I still couldn't believe it was actually happening.

I decided to go talk to Yuna and see what she has decided on. I approached the summoner and crossed my arms.

"Hey there." I said.

She looked at me and nodded slightly. "I've decided."

I let my arms hang to my sides. "Oh? Really? That's good."

She nodded again before looking back to her parents. "I remember, when I was only seven years old, in Bevelle that day. My father had defeated Sin, and the whole town was out in the streets. Everyone was laughing. They all seemed so happy. If I defeated Sin, that would make everyone happy...wouldn't it? I must do what everyone wants, not just what I want."

"Well, I'm happy you made a decision. You ready to head back?"

"Actually, give me a few more minutes. Then I'll be ready."

I nodded, "As you wish."

I left her alone after that. I figured she wanted to speak with her parents some more. Instead, I decided to go talk to Tidus.

He was standing along the edge of the platform, looking out into the distance.

"Hey. Whatcha doing?" I said, approaching him.

He turned to look at me and smiled. "Oh, nothing. Just enjoying the scenery."

I stood beside him and held my arms behind my back. I tried to hide my goosebumps, but it wasn't working very well.

"You cold?" He asked.

I shrugged, "It's not that I'm cold. It's just the thought of talking to your loved ones who have passed. It's just crazy."

He nodded as if he understood me. "I get what you mean. I don't really understand how it works."

"Well, why don't we test it?"

"Huh?"

"Call your dad. You said he disappeared when you were young, right? So, give it a try."

He shuddered at the thought of his father. "Uhh, I don't know."

"C'mon. Just do it." I urged.

"Uhh, okay." He said, finally giving in.

We waited for a few moments before seeing nothing in front of us but the vast land of the dead.

"It didn't work." He said.

"So, that must mean... he's alive."

Tidus looked at me, but then back out to the Farplane. I could tell he was in thought, but I wasn't going to question what it was about.

"I'd rather never see him again." He said gruffly.

This was something I didn't understand about him. So I just had to ask. "Why do you hate him?"

"Everything he does just makes me mad. It was his fault that me and my mother..."

But he stopped dead in his tracks. A young woman with dirty blonde hair and a gentle smile appeared in front of us.

"Mom? It's her!"

I gasped, but then smiled. "She's really pretty."

"But... wait. No one ever performed the sending for her."

I shrugged, "Maybe she accepted death while she was still alive."

"Whoa there, that's my mother you're talking about." He retorted.

"Sorry." I said.

"It's okay."

We stayed silent for a few seconds before he realized something.

"Ahh, I think I just figured something out."

"What?" I asked.

"Why I hate my old man."

I looked at him, signaling him to continue.

"Whenever my old man was around, my mother wouldn't even look at me. Maybe that's when I started to resent him, even hate him. When he left us... mom just lost her energy."

He looked at me, and I nodded.

"Go on." I said softly.

He nodded. "The old lady next door told me... when a lovebird dies, the one left behind... It just gives up living so it can join its mate. It was just like that. I hated my old man even more. But really, my old man..."

I could tell he was having flashbacks in his head, of his mother and father. I didn't ask about them, though. If he wanted to tell me, he would.

He shook his head and put his hand on the back of his neck. "Oh, man... I must sound so stupid."

"I don't think so." I said, smiling at him.

He looked back at me with the same smile that he had been giving me the past few days. His cheeks turned a bright pink color and he faced away from me. "How embarrassing!"

I giggled and slapped his arm lightly. It was cute how he was embarrassed he was.

The footsteps behind us signaled it was time to leave. I turned to see Wakka, Lulu and Yuna ready to go.

"Well? Need some more time?" Wakka asked.

"Nope, let's go." I said.

"Did I miss something?" Lulu asked.

Tidus and I laughed as we exchanged grins. We must've looked really stupid, but we didn't care. We were getting closer as the days were getting longer and more tiring.

But I was grateful to be here right now. I didn't want things to change.

We all made our way out of the portal and met back up with Auron and Rikku at the bottom of the stairs.

I wonder what those two did while we were in there...

Oh well, that wasn't as important as what happened when we tried to leave the Farplane.


	26. Chapter 26: Heart to Heart Talks

Everyone turned around to the portal and gasped. A ghostly figure of an Einstein look-alike tried to walk through the portal to Spira.

"Lord Jyscal!" A Guado asked in disbelief.

"Lord Jyscal!" Another cried out.

"Who's Lord Jyscal?" I quietly asked myself.

It wasn't a few seconds after I had spoken that I remembered the man was the leader of the Guado. He was also the father of Seymour.

The ghost managed to grunt out something as he stretched his hands out of the portal. Pyreflies surrounded his see-through form.

"It does not belong here." Auron said.

"Why?" Yuna asked.

Good question. I guess if I were dead I would want to come back to life, too.

"Yuna, send him." He commanded.

She nodded her head and began to walk back up the steps to Jyscal. As she pulled out her staff, I noticed Auron fall to his knees as he made a painful sound. A few pyreflies flew around his body.

My eyes went wide. What was happening?

"Lord Jyscal..." Yuna started.

But Lulu only interrupted her. "He is Lord Jyscal no more. Send him now!"

She lifted her staff above her head and began to twirl it around. As soon as it had started, it was over and Jyscal collasped in a wave of pyreflies. But as he fell, a small blue disk dropped onto the ground.

"Is that a CD?" I asked myself out loud.

Luckily, Yuna had grabbed it without anyone noticing. Anyone, but me.

Auron had found strength to get back on his feet. I don't think he noticed that I had seen his little incident. "Talk later. We leave now." He said gruffly.

We all gathered into our little group and left the Farplane area and walked back down the tunnel to Guadosalam. I stayed relatively quiet as everyone else discussed what had happened.

"Wh...what was that just now? That really Lord Jyscal?" Wakka asked.

"I don't understand how a man like Lord Jyscal could die and not be sent." Yuna said.

"I would think that he was sent once... but he stayed on Spira. Something, a powerful emotion could have bound him to this world. Such things happen." Lulu added.

"That's against the rules, isn't it?" Rikku asked.

"It means he died an unclean death." Auron said.

I would say the same thing about you, Auron. But knowing myself, I stayed quiet. I didn't want anyone to know what I had seen. Tidus was also being pretty quiet. I wonder what was going through his mind.

As we made our way back to the manor, we all stood outside and looked at Yuna.

"I will go... meet with Maester Seymour." She said uneasily.

I would have offered to go with her, but maybe she had to do this alone. I was also pretty curious as to what she grabbed from Jyscal when he collapsed.

Before she walked into the manor, Auron called to her. "Yuna! Jyscal is the Guado's problem, not yours."

She nodded to him and turned back to the manor, but she didn't move.

"Riley?" She asked.

I walked over to her. "Yes?"

"Will you come with me?" She asked me.

I was hoping she would ask me to come with me. She needed protection from Seymour and his creepy, long fingernails. Actually, I was hoping she would ask anyone to go with her. Anyone, except for Tidus that is.

"Of course. Let's go." I said, linking my arm with hers.

We pushed open the doors to the manor and walked inside.

**TIDUS' POV**

I watched as Riley walked arm in arm with Yuna into the manor. I didn't like the thought of them being alone with Seymour one bit, but I had no choice.

Riley could protect Yuna on her own, but I wasn't worried about Yuna. Even though I'm her guardian, I still worry about Riley more.

I'm not sure why, but I'm always looking out for her. I guess it's because I care about her and I don't want to see her hurt.

After the girls left, everyone went their seperate ways. I followed Lulu. Hopefully she could shed some light on this situation.

"Umm..." I started.

"What?"

I decided to ease into the conversation. "So, Lulu, what do you think about Yuna getting married?"

"As long as the pilgrimage continues, either way's fine."

"That's it? What if she doesn't even like the guy? Is that okay?" I asked.

Call me old fashioned, but you should marry for love and only love. Not for some arranged type of thing or because it's what others want.

"People marry for many reasons." She said.

She was only proving my point in her own way. But I couldn't really understand what she was trying to say.

"What's that mean?" I asked.

"Sometimes marriage doesn't require love, you know? Defeat Sin, and bring joy to the people of Spira. Get married, and bring joy to the people of Spira. For Yuna, they're just two ways down the same road. All you need is determination. If you have that, you don't need love."

I groaned slightly. "I don't know... I just don't get it."

She started to leave, but I followed her again. I was actually going to ask her about our next stop, but she started talking about marriage again.

"Listen. If Yuna gets married, then I..."

"What? That again?" I asked.

She sighed. "Yes. If she is to marry, I would want her to marry for love."

So she proved me right!

"See?" I asked. I was actually half-right for once!

"But... If Yuna said she wanted to marry the one she loves. I would have to object."

"Huh? Uh... You're not making much sense."

It was true. Lulu made as much sense as a talking rock to me.

"I know." She said.

Was she doing this on purpose?

"Lulu..."

"I've talked enough about that." She said quickly.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, just forget about it."

"Geez! Grumpy!" I said.

"You'll understand one of these days. I just don't want to give it words. Not yet."

She began to walk away again, but she stopped and turned back around.

"I shouldn't have to say this, but don't fall in love with her." She told me.

There they were. The words I've been waiting to hear. Ever since this pilgrimage started, I've seen the way Yuna looks at me. Supposedly, I've been giving some of it back. But I just don't see how I am!

I barely talk to Yuna and when I do, I'm just trying to be nice. I'm really not interested in her. And I'm actually kind of happy she's going to marry Seymour.

She's just marrying him for all the wrong reasons.

But I've been getting this vibe that says, "You have to like her if she likes you back because she's a summoner and if you break her heart or hurt her feelings then she can strike you down with her aeons!"

I just want to be her friend and someone she can rely on! Is that so much to ask for?

"Look, Lulu. You don't have to worry about that. There's not really a chance of that happening." I said bluntly.

She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Oh, is that so? Why is that?"

I wasn't really going to vent to her about how I actually feel about the situation. She would probably run off and tell Yuna and I'd get a good kick in the teeth.

So I said the next best thing that was true. "I think I'm falling for someone else."

She looked at me in disbelief at first, but then it changed to a smirk. "It's Riley. Isn't it?"

I paused. "How did you know?"

She smirked some more. "I can tell by the way you look at her."

Is it really that easy to see? I didn't want to admit it, but I was falling for her. What's not to like about her?

Her smile, her eyes, her hair, her skin...Everything!

That night on the highroad when she was lying in my lap, she looked like an angel. Right then and there I wanted to tell her how much I loved her and how badly I needed her to stay in my life after this journey was over.

But I don't think it's going to happen.

I sighed before sitting down. "Lulu, what am I gonna do? I really like her but I don't think I have a chance."

She sat down beside me and patted my back. "Maybe you should tell her how you feel. You never know. She could feel the same way."

I looked at her and smiled. "Thanks. I'll figure out the perfect time to tell her."

"I caution you, though. Make sure you do it alone. Yuna cannot find out about this. Two of her most trusted guardians going behind her back wouldn't exactly be the best thing for her to know about." She said in a hushed tone.

I relaxed a bit. "Tell me about it."

I stood up and decided to walk around for a bit. Maybe I could think of when to tell Riley. I just hope and pray that she would feel the same way.

I walked down a small tunnel that led to the next town, but that Shelinda girl was coming towards me. I was about to get an ear full.

"My... Was the lady summoner not with you?" She asked.

"No. She's at Seymour's place."

She sighed heavily. "That's 'Maester Seymour,' or 'Lord Seymour'."

"Oh, I'll be careful. Sorry."

She should know better than to correct me. That guy isn't worthy of being called a maester.

"That's all right. Maester Seymour left Guadosalam a short while ago."

"WhaT? You serious?" I asked.

She nodded. "I believe he went to the temple in Macalania. Maester Seymour is also the high priest of that temple."

"Whoa, I gotta tell the others!"

I waved her off and called everyone to attention in front of the manor. I began to tell them all about how Seymour wasn't here. What an ass!

But what really worried me was that if he wasn't here, what were Riley and Yuna doing in the manor.

**RILEY'S POV**

I couldn't believe this! We've searched all over this creepy manor to find that Seymour isn't even here!

What an ass!

"I don't understand. Why wouldn't he be here?" Yuna asked.

I crossed my arms and huffed. "Probably was scared you would reject him so he ran off crying."

"Riley." She said in a disapproving tone.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

She ignored me and thought to herself out loud. "He must be at the temple in Macalania. Maybe he's waiting there."

We exited the banquet hall and out into the main room. I still had my arms crossed. That man was going to get an ear full the next time I saw him.

But then, I remembered what else I wanted to do while I was here with Yuna.

"Hey, Yuna?" I asked.

"Yes?" She said, looking at me.

"What was that disk looking thing you grabbed from Jyscal?"

She gasped at first, then tried to hide it. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh c'mon. I saw you grab it when it fell from his see-through body!"

I could tell she wasn't going to argue with me. She sighed in defeat and hung her head.

"It's a sphere. I don't know what is on it and I'm afraid to find out. But, it has to be important if he had it."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's take a look."

She shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe I should wait for awhile. And since Maester Seymour isn't here, it gives me more time to think this whole thing over."

That's when I did something unexpected. I wrapped my arms around her tiny frame.

"Yuna, please don't marry Seymour. He's no good and I know it! I don't want anything bad happening to you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he ever hurt you."

She wrapped her arms around me in return and sighed. "Riley, please try to understand. I'm doing this for you and all the other people in Spira. They need a little bit of joy and happiness in their lives. Spira needs something good to talk about for once. If I could change someone's frown to a smile for just a second, then I've done my job."

I didn't want to believe this was true, because it wasn't. Screw the people of Spira! If only they could see how creepy Seymour really is. But, they can't.

"Alright. But if something bad happens, I'm killing him."

She chuckled slightly, "You won't be aloine in that fight."

We let go of each other and looked around the manor. "Well, now what?"

"We need to do something about Jyscal." She said.

"What are we gonna do? The guy's dead. Not much going on there."

"I know, but why did he try to come back to this world? It's all so puzzling."

I crossed my arms yet again. "I dunno, but I bet the answer's in that sphere he dropped."

She nodded her head, "You're probably right."

"Soooo when can we look at it?" I asked.

"The next place we travel to called the Thunder Plains. Hopefully there's an inn we can stay at for a few moments. When we do, the two of us can act like we're sleepy and use a room. We can watch the sphere there."

I nodded my head. "Sounds like a good idea."

"As long as we watch it before we get to Macalania, we'll be okay."

"Where's that?" I asked.

"It's on the other side of the Thunder Plains. And we'll have to cross them quickly at the risk of being struck by lightning."

I rolled my eyes and groaned. "Ohhh, how marvelous!"

She laughed at my reaction and walked up one of the sets of stairs. She stopped in front of one of the pictures and bowed down before it.

I walked up beside her and found myself llooking at a portrait of Jyscal. It was while he was still alive, but he still looked the same.

If he had his tongue sticking out, he would really look like Einstein.

"Lord Jyscal, please tell me. What can I do to help?" Yuna asked.

As if she was going to get an answer.

But before anything could happen, Rikku popped in and waved for us. "Yuna! Riley! Let's go!"

We walked outside of the manor after doing the prayer gesture to the picture. Outside, everyone was gathered in a circle, ready for our next move.

"They say Seymour went to Macarena Temple." Tidus said.

"Macalania Temple." Wakka corrected.

"Aye!"

I couldn't help but laugh at this. I wonder if they knew the Macarena was a dance back in my world. Maybe I should teach it to them sometime.

"What I don't get is... why would the lord maester head off without a peep to anyone?" Wakka asked.

"Maybe he wasn't expecting Yuna's answer so soon." Rikku replied.

"Ah, that's probably it."

Yuna and I both exchanged looks before she laughed shortly. It sounded more like she was breathing really heavily, which made me giggle.

"Yuna, what is it?" Auron asked.

"Oh, nothing." She lied.

"Hmm... You're a poor liar. Riley? What is it?" He asked me.

I stopped giggling and looked him in the eye. "It's nothing! Come on, let's go."

Thank goodness he believed me so we could leave. We all walked down a short tunnel that led to a dark, wet area filled with the sound of thunder.

This was going to be fun.


	27. Chapter 27: The Thunder Plains

We walked out of the tunnel and into a vast opening. I could finally see the sky again. But it wasn't a friendly sky. It was a dark grey with swirling clouds floating along in the air. Fog rose slightly above the ground as rain drizzled down from the clouds.

"This place is just like Seattle." I muttered.

I wasn't used to the cold and rain. Goosebumps covered my body. Maybe I should've brought a jacket.

"Oh, no... We're here." Rikku said. Fear was dripping from her words.

As if on cue, lightning struck the ground in front of us, making everyone jump, especially me. I had screamed and jumped up in the air, landing right into Tidus' arms.

I turned my head and looked at him. His cheeks were bright pink, but he wasn't letting go anytime soon.

"Uh, how are we supposed to cross that?" He asked.

"See the lightning rod towers? The lightning is drawn to them...hopefully." Lulu said.

She was right. Most of the lightning was hitting the towers, sending off a bright light throughout the plains.

"We head north, not too near and not too far from the towers, ya?" Wakka instructed.

"Meaning we should avoid wide, open areas." Lulu finished.

Once again, lightning struck and thunder sounded through our ears. I shivered as the rain began to dampen my hair, making Tidus shiver as well.

"I think I forgot something in Guadosalam." Rikku said.

"Nice knowing you." Auron said to her.

She shot him a look and finally huffed in defeat. "Okay, okay! I'll go!"

Everyone began to walk through the plains, jumping everytime the lightning struck the ground. Everyone, that is, except for me.

Tidus was still holding onto me bridal style.

"Uhh, Tidus?"

"Yeah?"

"You can put me down now." I told him.

He looked down at his arms and quickly began to laugh. "Hehehe, sorry about that." He said nervously.

I hopped out of his arms and flashed him a smile. He looked at me for a second, then looked down at his feet.

"Come on before you get struck by lightning." I instructed him. He looked up at me again and nodded his head.

We set off down the muddy path, trying our best to avoid getting hit. Every chance we got, we would run to safety under one of the towers.

Eventually, we met Shelinda under one of the towers.

"Ah, good day!" She said while doing the prayer gesture.

"Hi there." Tidus and I both said.

Turns out everyone else had gone on without us, so we were left to talk to the woman.

"Is it true? I heard that Maester Seymour and Lady Yuna are to be wed! It's such great news! I have to tell everyone!"

"Where'd you hear that?" Tidus asked.

"From the Guado. They were all very excited!"

"I'm afraid you heard a little wrong. Yuna's gonna turn him down." Tidus said.

"Oh... Really?"

"Yep. She wants to focus on her pilgrimage more." I told her.

"I see... That's unfortunate. Well I'm sure that people would have rejoiced all over Spira." She said before walking down the plains.

"Is it me, or does she seem like the type that would guilt trip you into a lot of things?" I asked Tidus.

He laughed slightly and nodded his head. "Seems like it."

Eventually, we caught up with the rest of the group and continued down the plains. Right before we reached another tower, lightning struck right in front of my feet.

"Look out!" Someone yelled.

I couldn't react fast enough the realize what was happening, so I just stood there and said, "Huh?"

Next thing I know, someone had pushed me out of the way and was lying on top of me on the ground.

My breaths became short from the adrenaline of not knowing what happened, but I think someone just saved my life.

I opened my eyes to see my saviour and wasn't surprised to see those big, blue eyes staring back at me. Tidus was lying on top of me, extremely close to my face. If I had been alone with him, I would've reached up and kissed him right then and there. But sadly, I couldn't do that.

"Whoa! That was a close one!" Wakka said before laughing.

"Stop kidding around." Lulu ordered.

He stopped laughing and hung his head. "Yes, ma'am..."

Tidus slowly began to stand up and pulled me up with him. I was going to say thank you, but I was interrupted by Rikku having a spaz attack.

"Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh..."

Everyone turned and looked at her. "Hmm? What's wrong?" Wakka asked.

"Eh heh heh heh heh heh heh..." She chuckled again.

"'Heh heh heh...' You're givin' me the creeps!" Tidus said.

Lightning striked the tower we were under and the girl lost it. She shrieked and fell on her knees, covering her ears as well. All of a sudden, she began to crawl quickly on the ground and grabbed ahold of Tidus' leg.

"I wanna go home! I hate lightning! I hate thunder! Let's go rest over there! Please?"

Auron shook his head. "This storm never stops. Better to cross quickly."

"I know, but... Just for a little while?" She begged.

Everyone remained silent, and I laughed. "Heh, well? What now?"

I didn't get an answer, because everyone had started walking up the little hill to the Travel Agency. To be honest, I wanted to stop for awhile myself. Plus, I was supposed to look at the sphere with Yuna.

Tidus, Rikku and I had stayed in front of the doors, but everyone continued to walk.

"Pretty please? Just a few minutes?" Rikku asked. But everyone ignored her.

"I'm scared of lightning! Let's rest, please? Pretty please?" She asked again. She was ignored, again.

"I'm too young to die!" She exclaimed.

"You're mean...cruel! Your moms would be ashamed of you!" She scolded them.

I thought it was funny and sad at the same time. Funny, because she was so desperated to get away from the storm, and sad that she was only a year younger than me and she was still afraid of storms.

"Are you having fun doing this to me?" She yelled to the group. Finally, they stopped and turned around.

"Fine, we rest. She's worse than the storm." Auron muttered. I giggled at his agitation. He reminded me of my dad by the way he acted.

Once we walked inside, Yuna approached the woman at the desk.

"I'm...a little tired. Do you have a room available?"

"Ah, Lady Summoner. Yes, just over that way." She said.

"Thank you."

"Actually, there are enough rooms for all of you, if you want to rest for awhile."

Everyone exchanged looks, but I wanted to rest. "Come on guys. We haven't actually stayed the night somewhere since we were in Djose. I'm exhausted and I can tell the rest of you are, too. Let's just stay for a few hours, okay?"

Everyone exchanged glances again, and finally, they gave in.

Each room had 2 people in it. Yuna and Lulu, Tidus and Wakka, Auron and Kimahri, and I was stuck with Rikku.

I think they did it out of spite.

We walked back into the hallway and into our seperate rooms, but Yuna and I had given each other a look. A look that said, 'meet me in my room and we'll watch the sphere.'

I walked in my room with Rikku, and she immediately sprung into one of the beds and covered her head.

"Tired?" I asked.

"And scared!" She exclaimed.

I laughed, "Well, it can't hurt you in here. Just try to get some sleep."

She peaked out from under the covers and watched me pull off my shoes. I was going to let them dry out a little bit while we were here. I was planning on doing the same with my shirt, but that wasn't going to be until later.

"Hey, Riley?" She squeeked.

"Yeah?" I said, turning my eyes to her.

"T-thanks for convincing them to stay here." She said.

I smiled, "No problem. I'm exhausted. We all needed a little rest anyways."

She nodded her head before slipping back under the covers and falling asleep. I waited for what seemed like 15 minutes before I heard the gentle snoring of the girl beside me.

I stood up and tiptoed out of the room and out into the hallway. I could hear the faint sounds of people talking, but I headed straight for the room across from mine.

I knocked on the door and prayed for Yuna to answer. Thankfully, she opened it quickly and ushered me inside.

"Where's Lulu?" I asked quietly.

"In Wakka's room." She said.

"Ohhh, what's going on in there?" I asked while winking.

She looked at me and laughed, "I think they're all in there talking."

I nodded to her and watched her pull out the sphere from her dress pocket. She hesitated for a moment, but I put my hands on her shoulders.

"Yuna, we don't have much time. Just play it. What happens...well, it happens. If it's bad, we'll do all we can to change it."

She bit her bottom lip and nodded before clicking a button on the sphere and letting it play.

We saw an image of Jyscal, with a cloudy background as if he's underwater, and several bubbles floating around behind him. Every so often, lightning would strike in the distant background, and we could see that it was raining. I'm pretty sure he was in the Thunder Plains when he recorded this.

We listened carefully as he began to walk and talk to us.

"What I am about to tell you is the unclouded truth. I swear it on my honor as a Guado. Listen to me very carefully, for I shall tell you the truth about my son, Seymour. His mind is closed even to me, a maester of Yevon. But I can feel flames of darkness burning in his heart. He is using Yevon, the Guado, and even the summoners. If he is not stopped, he will surely bring destruction and chaos to Spira. I will leave this world soon, killed by my own son. But I do not fault him. Because I was not wise enough, he has suffered, and become twisted. I could not protect him and his mother from the world and its cruelty. I will accept death as punishment for my deeds. But whoever is watching this... I implore you to stop Seymour! Stop my son."

Yuna and I both gasped at the words spoken by the deceased Guado.

"I can't...believe this." She said.

"Well, I can! I knew he was bad news from the moment I layed eyes on him."

I could tell that Yuna was feeling betrayed. I would too, if I were in her shoes. And I couldn't do anything about it. The only thing I could think of is killing Seymour and I don't think I can do that.

"What, what am I going to do?" She asked.

"You heard the man, he's evil! You can't marry him." I told her.

She looked up at me shook her head. "But, I must. If I don't then who will stop him?"

"I'll do it! Me and the rest of the gang and-"

"Riley, I can't let you do that."

I cocked my head to the side, "Huh? Why not?"

"You don't need involved. None of you do. I don't want to see any of you get hurt."

All of a sudden, there was a sound from outside and the door swung open, revealing Tidus.

"Whoa!" He yelled as he tumbled inside.

Yuna quickly covered the sphere and I stood in front of her with my hands behind my back to try to hide it.

"Y-Yes?" Yuna asked him.

He slowly stood up and dusted himself off. "I...well... It's nothing, really. I...I just, uh... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have come in."

"That's okay." I said quickly as Yuna turned off the sphere.

"H-Hey! Wasn't that that Jyscal Guado guy?" He asked.

Yuna stepped out from behind me and nodded her head.

"The sphere is his will... It says, "'Take care of my son.'"

Well, I guess she isn't lying about it.

"His son...? Seymour?" He asked.

We both nodded and he laughed. "Well, I know one way to take care of him."

I nudged Yuna and gave her a face. "See? I'm not the only one!" I said.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Well, I'm very tired. If you two don't mind, I'm going to rest now."

We both said our goodnights and left the room together.

I remembered that I wasn't very tired at all and I didn't want to disturb Rikku in her slumber, so I walked out into the dark lobby. The girl at the front desk had left and it was just me.

I pulled one of the chairs over beside the window and watched the rain outside. The thunder was roaring, but not loud enough to wake anyone up. It was actually sort of peaceful.

It made me miss those nights at home where I would sit on my bed and watch the rain outside through my window.

There were a lot of things I was beginning to miss about home.

Like a hair dryer, for example.

I tugged on the ends of my shirt, lifting it up over my head. I hung the shirt over the back of my chair and let it dry.

I was alone, so I decided to just sit there with my spandex and bra on. I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes, letting the soft patter of rain relax my body.

"Riley?"

I froze. I opened my eyes and quickly pulled my legs up to my chest.

"Yeah?" I asked.

It didn't take me any longer than 5 seconds to see the outline of the tall blonde's body in the darkness.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm j-just fine. Wh-what about you? Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"

He chuckled, "I could ask you the same thing, you know?"

I giggled, "Hehe, yeah. You're right."

I wasn't really anticipating that Tidus would come out here and see me wearing practically nothing. Not that it matters. Who am I kidding? It definitely matters!

"So, what are you doing out here?" He asked.

I wrapped my arms around my soft legs. "Oh, just listening to the rain."

I watched as he pulled up another chair beside me and sat down. Good thing it's dark, or else he could see how red my face was turning.

"But why alone? You could always listen to the rain with someone else with you."

"Well, sometimes I just like to be alone and think. Or just relax."

Crap! I better say something to get him to stay.

"But, I always like having someone with me, too." I said.

I could tell he was smiling. "I take it you don't want me to leave?"

I smiled, "Only if you want to stay."

"Well, if it makes you feel better... I do."

My cheeks turned a brighter red then they already were. It was just then that I remembered something.

"Oh, Tidus?"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Thanks for saving my life earlier. You know, saving me from becoming toast."

He chuckled, "It's no big deal. Honestly, I don't know what I would've done if you had been hit. You mean a lot to me, Riley."

I stopped myself from making any lovey-dovey 'awww' type noises. And instead, I just placed my hand on his leg, leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks." I whispered in his ear.

It took a lot of courage for me to do that, but what happened next made it worth while. Tidus had placed his hand on my neck, pulled me in and stopped nearly centimeters from my face.

"You're welcome." He whispered.

I gulped hard and pulled back away slightly from his face. He also began to feel uncomfortable and moved his hand from my neck down to my lower back. On the way, I felt him hit my bra strap and he made a funny face.

"Uhhh, are you wearing a shirt?" He asked.

My face turned red and I laughed slightly. "How did you know?"

All of a sudden, he moved his arm away from me and began to stutter.

"I, I, uhh, hehe, I could just, uhh, well, you know..."

All I could do was laugh. The look on the boy's face was priceless. I was glad that I had taken the chance to give him that peck on the cheek.

We stayed together in the lobby until my shirt dried, then I grew tired and told Tidus goodnight. Rikku was sleeping soundly in her bed like she was when I left.

I crawled into my own bed and settled in for some sleep.


	28. Chapter 28: To Marry, or Not to Marry?

The next morning, we all awoke and prepared for the rest of our trip through the Thunder Plains. My mind was racing with all kinds of questions.

What was Yuna going to do about Seymour? I can't let her marry him. I just can't.

Was anything going to happen between Tidus and I? Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind to get romantically involved with him. Just look at him! That tan skin and those bright blue eyes and that shaggy blonde hair and tha-

"Ready to go, Riley?"

I shook my head and looked at the blitzer.

"Sure am." I replied.

All at once, we left the Travel Agency and headed back down the drenched path. As always, lightning was striking the ground in random spots.

But before we could go much furthur, a random man ran up to us, took our picture, then ran away with his camera in hand.

No one said anything about it, so I decided to just keep my comments to myself and continued on.

I walked carefully, trying not to step in any huge puddles. That wouldn't be very good for my shoes.

_'Riley, quit worrying about your shoes! You have better things to think about right now.'_ I thought to myself.

I crossed my arms as I walked, trying to think about how I could help Yuna. But my thoughts were once again interrupted.

"Everyone...wait." Yuna said.

We all stopped at the same time and looked at the summoner. "What's up?" Wakka asked.

"I have something to tell you." She said.

"Here?" Lulu questioned.

Rikku began to jump up and down. "We're almost out of here! Let's go!"

"I have to say it now!" Yuna snapped back.

I didn't think she could keep the sphere a secret for very long.

"Over there." Auron said, pointing to a shelter a few yards away.

Standing out in the open wouldn't be a very good idea for us here.

We all walked quickly to the shelter and gathered around Yuna, staring at her intently. She took in a deep breath and looked at us.

"I've decided to marry."

"I thought so." Lulu said.

What? How can she marry such a monster? My insides were churning at the thought of Yuna kissing that freak. I wanted to just tell her how I felt, right then and there. But she's already heard it.

Thunder crashed through the air and Wakka spoke first. "B-But why? Why'd you change your mind?"

"For Spira's future... and Yevon's unity. I thought it would be the best thing to do."

"That's not good enough." Auron said.

I shook my head, agreeing with Auron. I wouldn't marry Seymour even if the future of Spira did depend on it.

Lulu approached Yuna slowly. "Wait, is it... Is it because of Lord Jyscal?"

"Hey! That sphere!" Tidus shouted out.

"Yeah! What about it?" I added.

Yuna shot me a look before she looked back at everyone else. I wasn't sure why. I thought she was going to tell them about the sphere. I wouldn't see Yuna not telling Lulu or Wakka.

"Show me." Auron requested.

Yuna looked down at her feet. "I can't. I must speak to Maester Seymour first. I truly am sorry, but this is... It is a personal matter."

"You're kidding, ya?" Wakka asked.

Auron began to turn away as he shook his head. "As you wish."

"I'm sorry." She said quickly.

"Just one thing."

"I won't quit my pilgrimage." She said with determination in her voice.

"Then it is...fine." He said as he began to walk away.

But Tidus stopped him. "Wait a minute, Auron! You don't care? I mean, you're not going to stop her?"

"No, I'm not. As long as she is willing to face Sin... all else is her concern. That is a summoner's privilege. As long as she journeys."

"But that's..." He started to say, but couldn't find the right words. In frustration, he just let out a rough "arrgh" sound.

I didn't blame him. He doesn't like Seymour anymore than I do. But was he really concerned for Yuna's safety, or was it more than that?

My brain told me not to worry about it, but my heart was telling me something completely different. I was going to have to push it out of my head until I figured out how to stop this marriage.

"Yuna, just one question." Wakka began. "Can't you just talk to Maester Seymour? You've got to marry him?"

Yuna shook her head. "I don't know. But I think it is the right thing to do."

"Okay, I guess." He said.

Then Rikku approached her.

"Yunie..." She started as she placed her hands on Yuna's shoulders. All of a sudden, lightning struck down near the shelter and the thunder roared.

"Quiet!" Rikku shouted.

I giggled slightly. Maybe she was already starting to get over her fear.

"I wish we could help somehow, some way!" She said with sympathetic eyes.

Yuna simply put her hand on Rikku's and said, "It's okay... I'll be fine."

Once everyone began to walk towards the next area, I got beside Yuna and questioned her.

"So you're really going to marry him? That's it?"

She stopped and looked at me. "Riley, this isn't about what I want. It's about what's best for the people of Spira."

I looked at her with my mouth wide open. "Yuna, that's crazy. Do you really wanna marry this guy?"

She looked at me for a moment, then she sighed. "No."

"Exactly! I understand what you're trying to do but you really don't need to. The people of Spira can just get over the fact that you don't wanna marry some creep."

She began to smile a bit as she looked into my eyes.

"I thank you, Riley. But I still need to talk to Seymour."

"What's there to talk about?"

She leaned closer to me and began to whisper. "The fact that he killed his own father!"

"Another reason why you shouldn't marry him!" I hissed back.

She shook her head at me and began to walk away.

"At least take me with you when you do talk to him." I requested.

She stopped and looked at me for a moment. Then she nodded.

If Yuna was going to confront him about the death of his father, I was going to be there to protect her.

It's hard to tell what he would do to her now that she knows.


	29. Chapter 29: Macalania Woods

**Hello everyone! :) I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a very long time. My laptop broke, school's been insane, the usual time consuming stuff. But now I'm back and I hope to finish this fanfic before taking a huge break again. Enjoy!**

We joined back up with the rest of the group and walked into a vast forest. Living in Nevada, I had never really been in a forest before, but I knew that the woods weren't supposed to have blue tinted trees and shining crystals on the branches.

It was really beautiful, and a bit chilly.

I noticed that Rikku was still kinda crouched over, as though she was hiding from the thunder. I walked up to her and lightly touched her back.

"I think we're safe from the thunder now, Rikku." I said.

She looked up at me and sighed in relief.

"I know. I just wanted to be extra sure!" She said before she giggled.

She was always such a bubbly person. It's such a great quality.

I turned around and noticed Tidus and Auron still off in the distance discussing something that made Auron's face more stern that normal. I decided to stay away from that for a bit.

I made my way over to Lulu and began to talk to her.

"So, how much longer until we get to the temple?" I asked.

She looked at me and responded. "The temple is just on the other side of the woods. We just have to cross all the trees' branches and the frozen lake. Then it's just a little bit furthur from there."

I groaned, "Sounds like a bunch of walking to me."

You would think I would be used to all the walking by now. But I'm not. I loved being lazy.

I looked over to Tidus and Auron once again and got lost looking at Tidus. It seemed that every time I would look at him, the more handsome he would become. But I couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about.

**TIDUS' POV**

"You're worried about Yuna." Auron told me.

I scoffed. "Actually, I'm not. Even though I'm her guardian, I want to stay out of whatever she's planning."

He raised an eyebrow, "You're certain?"

"Yeah. She's a lot stronger than what we think. And if she really wants to get married to make Spira happy, it's fine by me. It isn't smart, but it's for the people, I suppose."

"Hmmm, I wonder." He began to trail off.

"What?"

"She's strong, but she won't go alone. Riley will go with her." He replied.

At the very sound of her name, my heart skipped a beat. I looked over to catch a glimpse of her talking to Lulu. She turned her head to look at me and smiled. Of course I smiled back.

It was then that I realized that Riley would stay by Yuna's side whenever she would face Seymour. That was what worried me.

"Well then, why don't we do something about it?" I asked.

Auron  
>"Yuna wants it this way. And so does Riley. She hates Seymour more than you do."<p>

It was true.

"I know, but I don't want Ri- I mean both of them to risk getting hurt just to go through with this plan."

Auron took a few steps closer to me so that his face right was in front of mine.

"Do not let Yuna know your feelings for Riley." He whispered in a harsh tone.

I gulped, but shook my head anyways. He took a step back so he wasn't in my personal space any longer.

"It can be obvious from the way you look at her and the way you two speak."

I sighed heavily, "I can't help it! She's everything I could ever ask for and more."

"She is not of this world or yours!" He said strictly.

"I don't care! That shouldn't matter!" I was starting to get angry. How dare he say who I should and shouldn't have feelings for?

He looked at me and chuckled. He really knew how to confuse me.

"You're right." He said.

I folded my arms and huffed. "'Bout time."

He began to walk away from me, signaling that our little chat had ended. But he turned and came back.

"Just don't forget to be a guardian to Yuna. It is your duty."

I shook my head and with that, walked back over to the group.

"Slowpokes!" Rikku shouted, jumping numerous times.

It must be her way of getting energy out, which she has a lot of.

"Sorry!" I replied.

I took a quick glance at Riley, only to catch her looking at me. I winked at her, making her blush and look down at her feet. She was so cute.

Maybe I have more of a chance with her than I thought.

**RILEY'S POV**

I can't believe he winked at me! I hope no one else saw it. We'd be in deep shit then.

After I had calmed down a bit and the red had left my cheeks, we headed off into the Macalania Woods.

The fiends here were much stronger than the ones we had previously encountered. But we still managed to take them down a step at a time.

We walked through the forest on the wide tree branches, mostly keeping to ourselves. It was becoming too quiet for me since I could hear the breathing of several people.

All of a sudden, we heard a frantic screaming. Everyone stopped walking and began to look around curiously.

"What is that?" I asked to no one in particular.

Around the next corner came Barthello the bonehead running and yelping something about his summoner. He caught sight of us and yelled, "Hey!"

He stopped running and began to pant like a dog.

"You, have you seen Dona?" He asked.

"Can't say we have." I replied.

I wanted to say, 'Oh, you mean that poor excuse for a summoner?' But I kept my mouth shut for once.

"What's up?" Wakka asked, just now coming into the conversation.

"We got separated on the way here. Damn it all! I've got to find her!"

Poor Barthello looked like he was about to yank his hair out of his head whenever Auron decided to pitch in his two cents.

"Calm down." He said.

"But, if anything happens to her..."

"Running around in a panic is not going to help. Right now, you have to keep cool, and search."

I nodded my head in agreement with Auron.

Barthello stuttered,"But-"

"Guard your emotions, then guard your summoner."

And just like the flip of a switch, he was calm. "You're right."

"Shall we search?" Auron offered.

Great, put us off schedule even more.

He shook his head, "No, I've taken up enough of your time. Thank you, Sir Auron."

He performed the prayer gesture and ran off again.

Rikku started to run after him for some reason, but she stopped.

"Rikku, where are you going?" I asked.

"Oh, I just wanted to wish him good luck."

"I'm sure he'll find her. Even though he gets a little bit out of control." I said.

Everyone nodded and we set off again into the woods. The deeper into the woods we got, the colder it became.

I folded my arms and walked closer to Lulu.

"Is it going to be cold like this all the way to Zanarkand?" I asked.

"Macalania and Mt. Gagazet are the only places that should be cold, but I have never been beyond the Calm Lands so I can't really say for sure."

I nodded my head. Awesome, maybe I can freeze to death when we're in the middle of a battle. That will fly really well with everyone else.

Eventually, we reached a little pathway where the road forked off into three different paths.

"Wait. It is here...somewhere." Auron said.

"What's here?" Tidus asked.

"Something you should see."

"But, Sir Auron..." Yuna interjected.

"It won't take long." He said while pulling out his katana blade. He sliced a big tree, making it fall over. He walked in to the hole he had made, and the rest of us followed.

We walked into an area where the ground was soaking wet. There was a small lake in the back of the area and a tree right in the middle of it.

"This place... It's just water, isn't it?" Tidus asked.

"This is what spheres are made of. It absorbs and preserves people's memories." Auron explained.

The idea of water forming into spheres amazed me. But how could they absorb people's memories just like that? It wasn't logical to me. Then again, not a lot of things made sense to me in Spira.

Suddenly, a huge blob of geletin-like water arose from the lake and took the form of a sphere.

"What's that?" Wakka asked.

"Fiends are also attracted to these places." Auron replied.

We all took out our weapons and began the battle. Our bullets, swords and blitzball couldn't hurt it very much, so we had to rely on Lulu's black magic. Every time she would hit the sphere with a spell, it would form into another sphere that required another type of spell to take it down. Eventually, we all weakened it enough to where Lulu cast a fire spell and it began to melt back into the lake. When it disappered, a small orange sphere was floating on top of the water.

We all took a look at it as Tidus picked it up.

Wakka had a surprised look on his face. "Whoa, this is old! Don't know if you can play it back."

"Jecht left it here ten years ago." Auron announced.

Everyone gasped, including me. It would be exciting to see what Tidus' father looked like. Even though he supposedly isn't a good man.

"Play it back." Auron commanded.

Tidus did as he was told and began to play the contents of the sphere.

We all watched as a younger version of Auron. This video was old! Auron had jet black hair, his arm wasn't in a sling and he wasn't nearly as muscular.

"What are you taking?" He asked someone.

Even his voice sounded younger.

A man with a gruff voice began to speak. He sounded as though he had been smoking for over ten years. "Well, you said it was gonna be a long trip."

We watched Auron and another man with a robe and long lilac colored hair walking, with a large building in the background. Someone was holding the sphere as though it were a video camera.

"We'll be seeing a lot of neat things, right? So I thought I'd record it all in this. To show to my wife and kid, you know."

"This is no pleasure cruise!" Auron said angrily.

"Hey, Braska. Ain't this supposed to be a grand occasion? Where're the cheering fans? The crying women?"

The man with the lilac hair turned around.

"This is it. Too many goodbyes-people think twice about leaving." He said.

_'So that must be Yuna's dad.' _I thought.

"Hmm... If you say so. Well, it better be a lot more colorful when we come back. A parade for Braska, vanquisher of Sin!"

Braska began to laugh. "We should go. Day will break soon."

The sphere turned off, but came right back on to show an icy landscape. ; A Travel Agency is in the background and Auron is standing by a very tan man only wearing black shorts, a red headband and he had the same symbol for the Zanarkand Abes on his chest that Tidus wore around his neck.

_'He must be Jecht.'_

"Auron, could you stand closer to him?" Braska asked.

Auron sighed, nodded, waited a few moments before he went to stand by Jecht.

"Good. That should do it." Braska said.

Jecht looked at Auron and crossed his arms. "What's the matter? Afraid I might bite?"

"Jecht..." Auron said, losing his temper.

"Braska! You should take one, too. It'd make a great gift for little Yuna!"

He sighed, "I suppose."

Auron stepped forward and took the sphere as Braska got in the picture.

"Lord Braska... We shouldn't be wasting our time like this!"

"What's the hurry, man?" Jecht asked.

Auron began to walk closer to the two men as though he were going to strangle Jecht. "Let me tell you what the hurry is!"

"Auron!" Braska yelled before the sphere was turned off again.

"What's the point? He wasn't on some pleasure cruise." Tidus said.

Rikku took the sphere from Tidus and began to play around with it. "I think there's more." She said.

The sphere turned back on again and showed the area we were all standing at now. The same tree was even in the middle of the lake. and company are now in is shown, with the same big tree in the background.

The sphere suddenly turned off, and back on again in the same area. This time, Jecht was sitting in front of the lake, looking at the sphere.

"Hey. If you're sitting there, watching this... It means you're stuck in Spira, like me. You might not know when you'll get back home, but you better not be crying! Although, I guess I'd understand. But you know what? There's a time when you have to stop crying and move on. You'll be fine. Remember, you're my son. And... Well, uh... Never mind. I'm not good at these things."

He stood up, walked out of view and turned the sphere off. He soon turned it back on and showed the scenery instead of his face.

"Anyways... I believe in you. Be good. Goodbye."

The sphere shut off and we all looked at Tidus, waiting to see his reaction.

"He sounded almost serious, but it was too late." The blonde said.

"He was serious. Jecht had already accepted his fate." Auron said.

"His fate?" He asked.

"Jecht... He... He was always talking about going home, to Zanarkand. That's why he took all those pictures-to show them to you when he returned. But as he journeyed with us and came to understand Spira, and Braska's resolve... It happened gradually, but Jecht changed. He decided he would join Braska in his fight against Sin."

"So then, he gave up going home?" Tidus asked.

"That was his decision." Auron said.

I guess I kinda understood why Jecht would choose to stay in Spira. Maybe he thought that in a way, his helping in defeating Sin would keep Tidus safe. It kind of made sense to me.

"All right! Let's go, guys!" Tidus declared.

I didn't understand that though. He just completely shrugged off the fact that his father was attempting to reconcile with him.

But besides that, maybe I should start accepting my own fate.

I've been in Spira for a long while now, and going home was nowhere in sight. Maybe...maybe I was meant to be here in this video game.

Maybe I was meant to meet Tidus and fall in love with him and help defeat some big monster from the people.

I was trying to make sense of my own situation that I didn't notice everyone else leave the area.

"You coming, Riley?" Tidus asked.

I shook my head to get the crazy thoughts away from me and smiled.

"Yeah. I was just dazing off." He smiled back at me and together we walked out of the woods and into the snow.


	30. Chapter 30: Macalania Temple

The ground was suddenly covered in snow and a steady wind began to blow. The same Travel Agency that was shown in the sphere was right in front of us as we walked along the path.

Ahead, Clasko was alone with his trusty chocobo, stroking the bird's neck. He turned to see us and smiled.

"Hi there. Would you look at this? They always leave me behind."

It was true. Lucille and Elma were always so much faster than he was. The chocobo warked loudly, signaling it wanted more attention.

"Oh, you want me to scratch you?" Clasko asked the bird.

The chocobo lowered its head and received a nice scratching from Clasko as it seemed to sigh contently.

"There. Good boy!"

"How'd you know what it wanted?" Tidus asked him.

"I've always been able to tell how chocobos feel. Maybe I'd make a better chocobo breeder than Chocobo Knight, huh?" He replied.

"Hey, what job do you see me doing?" He asked me.

I thought about it for a second and then gave my honest answer.

"I think since you know how Chocobos feel, you would be a better bredder than a knight."

"Yeah! I think so too! Hmm... You know, I might just give it a try." He replied happily.

I stepped towards him to give the chocobo a scratch on the neck and then continued on with the rest of the group. When we were right past the agency, Seymour's goon Tromell approached us.

"Lady Yuna, we've been expecting you. We were surprised you decided to come so soon. Pleasantly surprised, of course. Lord Seymour sends his apologies for having left without notice."

I shivered, but not from the cold. I think all Guado people freaked me out a tiny bit with their long fingernails. I wondered if their toes were the same way.

"It's quite all right. I have one question, if I may, sir." Yuna said.

"My lady?"

"I want to keep journeying, even if I marry. Do you think that Maester Seymour would let me?" She asked.

"But of course, my lady. Lord Seymour wishes nothing else, I'm sure."

Yuna turned to all of us and looked at me. I nodded, and walked up next to her.

"Goodbye." She said to the rest of the group.

The two of us walked up to Tromell, who had a distressed look on his face.

"My lady...we must follow Guado tradition. You must come with me alone." He said.

That's when I retaliated. "I'm sorry, but I'm Yuna's guardian and it is my duty to come with her to make sure she's alright. Can I just come with her? Just me, I promise."

He looked between me and Yuna for a few moments. Yuna even nodded her head to signal that she wanted me to come with them. He looked between us again before sighing in defeat.

"Maester Seymour might not like this. But if the lady wishes it."

He turned to the rest of the group and told them they would have to wait a little bit longer for someone to come and escort them.

The three of us began to walk down the slope and onto the frozen lake until Yuna turned around.

"I..."

"We're all with you. Do as you will." Auron said.

"We're all counting on Riley to keep you safe, yah!" Wakka said.

I smiled slightly, knowing what faith they were having in me to go with Yuna.

"Thank you." The summoner said.

We began to walk again until someone yelled out my name. I turned around just to see Tidus whistle. I smiled, knowing what he meant.

"Yessir!" I shouted as I saluted him.

One again, we walked across the frozen lake and off to another path until something happened.

"Oh, no!"

"Al Bhed!" I heard Wakka shout.

All of a sudden, several Al Bhed appeared out of nowhere on large jet skis and circled the three of us. I made sure I stood in front of Yuna and Tromell stood behind her to make sure no one could get to her. I pulled out one of my guns and assumed my fighting position until the rest of the group came to the rescue.

"Stand back." Auron commanded.

"Thank you!" Tromell said.

He grabbed Yuna's arm and began to pull her away from the fight, but she yanked herself free and joined the rest of us.

"Lady Yuna!" He shouted.

"Just stay back!" I told him.

We were all surrounded by Al Bhed, ready to fight. But they all ran away.

"**Rikku**!"

A man sporting a mohawk and overalls stood on top of the hill in the distance.

**"Tuh'd ehdanvana un oui kad drec!"**

Of course I'm not very good at Al Bhed, so I couldn't understand a word he was saying. He signaled for a large machine to climb on top of the hill beside him. It looked like it a tank mixed with a cannon, or dangerous in other words.

**"Ouin bnaleuic magic yht aeons yna caymat!"**

He began to laugh and Rikku shouted "Oh, no!"

"Translation?" Tidus asked.

"He's gonna use an anti-magic field on us!"

**"Kad dras!" **The man yelled.

The machine rolled down the hill and onto the ice where we began our battle. A small surveillance machine popped out of its back side and hovered in the hair.

"While that thing's around, we can't use magic or summoning!" Rikku shouted.

With that being said, Wakka used his blitzball to take out the little machine so magic could be used once again. The rest of us hammered away at the crawler with our weapons.

I went trigger happy while Tidus, Auron and Kimahri sliced the machine with their blades. Wakka would hit the little floating pest whenever it came up again and Lulu would cast thunder on the crawler. Yuna and Rikku just stayed back and healed everyone.

The only damage the crawler really did was when it cast Mana Beam, cutting everyone's health down to near death. But luckily, we kept hammering at it until Yuna could summon Ixion and have it perform its overdrive, making the crawler collapse onto the hard ice.

We all put away our weapons, but stayed on guard.

"My lady!" Tromell yelled to Yuna, signaling that it was time to leave before anymore damage was done.

As we were leaving, I heard Rikku yelling something in Al Bhed to the man on the hill.

_'Uh oh. Now Wakka's gonna know she's an Al Bhed. Glad I'm not sticking around for that one.'_

The road to the temple was a long one on foot. It stayed mostly quiet as we crossed the paths of ice bridges over crevasses. The further we walked, the colder it became.

"I cannot believe those Al Bhed used that machine to harm us. Forbidden machina it was!" Tromell said, breaking the somewhat awkward silence.

That triggered me to ask something that I had been wondering for awhile.

"If that big machina is forbidden, then why can I use my guns? Aren't they considered machina?"

Yuna looked at me and answered. "Yevon decides which types of machina we can use and which types we cannot. We cannot use the big types that the Al Bhed create and use for their own gain. But your guns are allowed since you use them to defend yourself against fiends."

"Not many people wield those weapons that you have because they're afraid of them. But as long as people aren't being harmed then it's okay." Tromell added.

"I see. That makes it a little better to understand." I replied.

To be honest, I still didn't understand it. I guess as long as I wasn't hurting anyone then I could use them. But what if I shot someone? What are they gonna do? Throw me in prison?

"So is this wedding gonna be at the temple?" I asked.

"That is up to the Maester to decide." Tromell said.

I took a quick look at Yuna and gave her a small grin. She returned it as I grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She wouldn't be alone in this.

After walking on the icy bridge a little longer, we finally reached the temple. It seemed like the rest of them except it appeared to be floating since the lake was down beneath us, frozen.

We walked inside and were immediately greeted by all the priests and Shelinda. They even had a small band playing a song inside to 'set the mood'.

"Wow. He really wants a yes, doesn't he?" I said quietly to Yuna.

She quickly nudged me in my side, inflicting slight pain since I still wasn't fully healed from the previous battle.

"Owww... okay. I'm sorry." I told her.

Our attention was turned to the main staircase where Seymour had opened the doors and walked down to greet us.

"Ah, ladies. Welcome to Macalania Temple." He said.

Yuna did the prayer gesture towards him. I refused.

"Thank you for meeting us here." She said.

"I apologize for making you come all the way out here. I wasn't expecting your answer so soon." He said.

"That's alright. I needed to pray to the Fayth anyways." Yuna said.

After an awkward few moments of Seymour staring at Yuna, I butted in.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat, making them both look at me.

"Yuna, why don't we go in the other room and take a little rest before we go into the Cloister?"

"Of course. You must be exhausted." Seymour said. "Right this way."

He led us to a small room with two beds and bookshelfs around the walls.

"Just come find me when you're ready to enter the Trials." Seymour said before he closed the doors and left Yuna and I alone.

"Now what are we going to do?" Yuna asked me.

"Should we wait for the others to get here?" I replied.

"No, that will take too long. I can't hold this back much further Riley. It's now or never."

I nodded my head and gave her a reassuring hug.

"Don't worry, I'll always be here." I told her.

"Thank you." She said.

We left some of our belongings behind in the room as we got ready to enter the Cloister of Trials with Seymour. The very thought had made me shiver more than I already was from the chilly atmosphere.

Yuna and I had left the sphere of Jyscal behind. If Seymour were to see Yuna with it, he would automatically know what was happening. Even though I wanted to destroy it, Yuna said we should just hide it.

We walked back out into the main area of the temple and approached Seymour.

"I'm ready." Yuna said.

"Right this way." Seymour said as he led Yuna up the stairs.

"Hold on just a second." I said.

They both stopped and looked at me, Seymour having a scowl on his face.

"I am Lady Yuna's guardian and I demand I enter the Trials with you." I said.

I could tell Seymour didn't like it, but he allowed it anyways.

"Anything for Lady Yuna." He said.

I smiled and walked up the stairs with them and opened the doors to the Trials, hoping the others would arrive anytime soon.

**TIDUS' POV**

After Rikku's heated discussion with her brother had occured, it was made clear that she was indeed an Al Bhed. Wakka, of course, was clearly pissed at everyone and decided to walk to the temple himself while the rest of us took the machina the Al Bhed had left behind.

The ride was quiet for Lulu and I who were riding together until she spoke up.

"I hope that you're not too mad at Wakka."

"Hey, not at all." I replied.

"Thank you."

It was so obvious that those two had a thing for each other.

"Say, what do you think of Rikku?" I randomly said.

"Me? She's...fun to be with."

I scoffed, "That all?"

"Well, I can tell she's not a bad person." She replied.

"Yeah. You know what the problem is? She's just another Al Bhed to Wakka. Wakka's head is as hard as a rock. I bet it's because of Yevon. Or, you know, something like that."

"Well, there's more to it than that."

"Hmm?"

"Wakka doesn't like the Al Bhed because of his brother Chappu." She explained.

"Oh...he used a machina weapon, right? And got killed by Sin."

I hated that. The fact that my father was killing innocent people.

"Killed by my old man. Damn you, Jecht." I said quietly.

"What?" Lulu asked.

"Oh, nothing! Hey... Can someone, like, a human become Sin ever?"

I figured I would go ahead and ask since we were on the subject.

"I can't say that I know, but why?"

"Just a thought." I replied.

"Sin is the punishment for, and the incarnation of, crimes we have committed."

"So, no one really knows what it is?"

"There's no need to know, so no one asks. You run or you fight. That is really all you can do. There's no sense brooding over it."

"What, that's all? I mean, you don't even wonder?" I asked.

"You really do come from a world where there is no Sin, like you say." She said in kind of a laughing tone. Not laughing to make fun of me, but to laugh as though she couldn't believe that I was from this world.

Why was it so hard for people to understand that?

Just then, I muttered the one thing I had been wondering for the past 15 minutes or so.

"I wonder how Riley's doing."

"I'm sure she and Yuna are alright. Riley's tough, but I'm not sure she can handle Seymour on her own if something happens." Lulu replied.

"I know. That's what I'm worried about. I don't want either one of them anywhere near that creep."

Lulu apparently had no comment to that statement, so I let it go. I began going faster since I was driving in hopes of arriving at the temple soon. I prayed that Riley would be alright and could hold off on the fighting until I got there.


	31. Chapter 31: Confronting Seymour

**TIDUS' POV**

We soon arrived at the temple and ran straight to the doors.

"Halt! The likes of her are not welcome in this hallowed place."

Of course the guard was pointing at Rikku since she was an Al Bhed.

"She is a guardian." Auron retorted.

"An Al Bhed, a guardian? Preposterous!"

"I've decided to be Yuna's guardian now, and that's all I want." Rikku replied.

Poor girl. This whole situation must be so hard on her.

"And that's all one needs to be a guardian." Auron said.

"Very well." The guard said. Apparently, he wasn't fighting us since we're Yuna's guardians.

We proceeded into the temple only to be greeted by Shelinda.

"Ah! There you are! So Lady Yuna is getting married. You shouldn't kid around about these things."

"Yeah, I guess so." I replied.

"You're not happy?" She asked.

"Nah, it's complicated. Say... Do you know where Riley and Yuna is?"

"I believe... they've gone to the Cloister of Trials with Maester Seymour."

_'Oh, no. I've got to get to her before Seymour does anything.'_ I thought.

I was scared that I would be too late to save her from whatever was going to happen. I knew something was going to happen. I just hoped that both of the girls were alright.

We all started up the main staircase to the Cloister of Trials whenever a lady began screaming.

"Lord Jyscal! A sphere, in Lady Yuna's belongings..."

Everyone was talking in hushed tones about why Yuna would have some sphere in her belongings. I was kind of wondering why that chick went through Yuna's things in the first place, but I didn't question it.

We all ran into the small room she found it in and found the sphere.

"This may well answer a few questions." Auron said.

He handed me the sphere, I placed it on the floor and turned it on. The sphere showed Jyscal walking with lightning striking every so often. Water bubbles were floating everywhere as it began to rain. We all watched closely as he began to speak.

"What I am about to tell you is the unclouded truth. I swear it on my honor as a Guado. Listen to me very carefully, for I shall tell you the truth about my son, Seymour. His mind is closed even to me, a maester of Yevon. But I can feel flames of darkness burning in his heart. He is using Yevon, the Guado, and even the summoners. If he is not stopped, he will surely bring destruction and chaos to Spira. I will leave this world soon, killed by my own son. But I do not fault him. Because I was not wise enough, he has suffered, and become twisted. I could not protect him and his mother from the world and its cruelty. I will accept death as punishment for my deeds. But whoever is watching this... I implore you to stop Seymour! Stop my son."

And with that, the sphere turned off.

"Wonderful." Auron said.

"I knew it! I knew Seymour was evil from the first time I saw him!" I exclaimed.

"Will Yuna and Riley be all right?" Rikku said.

"Without us, no." Auron replied. He was already walking out the door. Rikku and Kimahri soon following him.

"Where you goin'?" Wakka asked me as I began to follow them.

I gave him a 'duh' look. "You saw, didn't you? Seymour's bad news!"

He stuttered, "B-but he's a maester!"

"Fine! Stay here if you want!" I exclaimed.

I was not going to let the girl I love be harmed by some crazy maester guy.

"Come on, Wakka. Let's at least hear him out." Lulu said. I could tell she still had her doubts as well.

"This can't be happening." Wakka groaned as we ran up the stairs into the Cloister of Trials.

**RILEY'S POV**

After we had gone through the Cloister of Trials, Yuna went into the Chamber of the Fayth to pray.

In the meantime, it was just me and Seymour. Well, and some of his guado guards who he insisted stood at the door so no one could come and disturb Yuna's praying. It was too quiet between the two of us. It didn't help that he kept looking at me and creepily smiling.

"Okay Seymour. What's your problem?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You keep looking at me. And I see the way you look at Yuna too, you pervert."

Was I crossing the line? Of course. Did I mean to? Of course.

He made a twisted face and approached me.

"What did you say to me?" He asked gruffly.

I got closer to him as well, showing that I wasn't backing down. "I know you're just using Yuna to get to Sin. And that, Maester Seymour, isn't gonna happen."

Not even two seconds after I said these words was I in severe pain as he grabbed my wrist and began to twist it.

"Listen here, you little runt. I know who you are. I know that you are not of this world."

I gasped, "H-how do you know that?"

"I can smell it on you." He said, lowering his face to my neck and smelling it. I shivered in disgust and attempted to break free of his grip, only making it worse.

I yelped out in pain before saying, "You won't get away with what you're planning! I'll make damn sure of it!"

I saw the fury in his eyes as he took his free hand and wrapped it around my neck. He began to twist my wrist even more and dug his nails into my skin, causing blood to flow out of my skin. I was about to scream out for help whenever someone ran through the doors.

"Seymour!"

His attention was thrown off of me as he let go of me, sending me crashing onto the floor gasping for air.

"Please be silent. Lady Yuna prays to the fayth."

I attempted to sit up, holding my wrist with my free hand to keep too much blood from dripping everywhere.

I looked up to see Tidus standing in front of the stairs with the most pissed off look on his face. I had never seen him that angry before.

"Make me!" He shouted.

Seymour began to smirk at Tidus and walk towards him until the door to the chamber opened. Yuna walked out and gasped at the sight in front of her.

"But why...?"

"We saw Jyscal's sphere." Tidus said.

"You killed him." Auron stated.

How could he be so calm about this?!

"What of it? Lady Yuna, certainly you knew of these things, did you not?"

"As did your guardian Riley." He said, motioning to me.

Everyone looked at me with mixed faces. Some angry, some hurt, some confused. Tidus' was a mixture of all of them.

Yuna made noises signaling that she didn't know what to say. All she could do was look at me and mouth the words 'I'm sorry.'

"Well then, why have you come here?" Seymour asked.

"I already told you that we came to stop you!" I shouted as I stood up. I avoided looking at my arm because of the blood. I had never experienced so much blood coming out of my body that it was making me sick.

I stumbled over to the rest of the group while Seymour was distracted by Yuna agreeing with me. Tidus wrapped his arm around me and looked at my arm.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you two come here alone." He muttered.

I gave him a sorry look on my face and he returned the favor by grabbing his sword with his free hand.

"I see. You came to punish me, then."

He turned around, to face away from us since Yuna had already walked over to join the rest of us. He turned back around and extended his hand to Yuna, making her back away.

"You would seriously think that she would take you now that you've hurt me and revealed your plan? You're such an idiot!" I yelled.

I honestly didn't care anymore what I was saying to this poor excuse of a Guado.

"What a pity." Seymour said. He acted as though he wasn't surprised, which he shouldn't be.

I shook the blood off of my arm and pulled out one of my guns as we all surrounded Yuna to protect her.

"Ah, of course. 'Protect the summoner even at the cost of one's life.' The Code of the Guardian. How admirable." Seymour said as his two guards stepped up next to him.

"Well, if you're offering your lives, I will have to take them."

"Maester Seymour. I trust my guardians with my life. But they are also my friends. I will not stand by and watch them be hurt. I will fight you, too!" Yuna said whipping out her staff.

"All right!" Tidus and I both exclaimed.

"Maester Seymour!" Wakka yelled, still not wanting to accept what was happening.

"So be it." He said as we all assumed battle positions and began hammering away at Seymour.

However, his guards would keep stepping in front of him to protect him.

"Kill the guards! Then we can get to him!" I shouted.

Rikku stole from both of the guards and then I shot them, knocking them out of the battle.

Now it was just us and Seymour. We began to attack him with everything we had, unreleashing our overdrives and healing each other whenever we had the chance. Seymour was really advanced on his black magic, making it nearly impossible for anyone to stay completely healthy during the fight.

During the battle, some of us would try talking to Seymour to see if he would stop fighting us or sometimes it would just make it worse.

"I knew you were bad news the first time we met." Tidus said.

"Oh, my sincerest apologies." Seymour replied.

This only made Tidus more mad making him shout, "Seymour!"

Yuna said, "You may be a Maester, but I will still fight."

"Your eyes, they burn with resolve...Beautiful!" He replied.

I made a gagging sound and took my turn. "Seymour, I promise that you will pay for what you've done to not only me, but your father, too!"

"And to think, I was starting to like you." He replied.

He was so in for it now.

"Maester! We must stop this!" Wakka said.

Poor guy. Still thinking Seymour's a good guy. Of course, he didn't say anything back which made Wakka more distressed.

"Ahhh, this can't be happening!" He said.

Yuna healed everyone and cast nullifying spells on us so Seymour's magic wouldn't hurt us if the right spell was cast.

Eventually, we got half of Seymour's heart power down whenever he switched it up on us.

"Feel my pain. Come, Anima!"

Everything became dark as a giant anchor like claw came crashing down into a black pit, pulling out a huge aeon. It was the same aeon that he had summoned to destroy the fiends in Luca!

"Oh, no..." I muttered.

The aeon cried out in pain as blood seeped out of its eyes. I knew that we couldn't take on this beast ourselves.

"Yuna, summon the new aeon!" I shouted.

She nodded and said, "O Fayth, lend me strength."

The rest of us stood back as Yuna called out to her new aeon. She had descended from the ceiling as huge ice crystals fell behind Yuna. The aeon came in the form of a blue woman who had long hair and gold bangles hanging off her ears, ankles, and wrists. She was gorgeous. She threw off her shawl, signaling she was ready to fight and her and Anima began.

We watched in horror as Anima threw countless attacks at Yuna's aeon inflicting pain on itself.

However, the new aeon was tougher and could heal herself with its blizzard spells. Her overdrive was soon activated and she cast ice all around Anima, trapping it so it couldn't move. And at the snap of her fingers, Anima was destroyed.

Seymour was shocked, but he wasn't giving up. "That power that defeated Anima... It will be mine!"

Yuna quickly dismissed her aeon and we were back in the battle.

Seymour started casting multi black magic, signaling that it was time to hit him with all we had. Everyone was attacking him, except for Yuna who kepts everyone alive.

Soon, I could use my overdrive and I took the opportunity to finish Seymour off. I charged up and ran up to Tidus.

"Tidus, help me out!" I shouted.

He nodded and knelt down. I jumped on his back and he boosted me up into the air, making me spin around in circles upside-down and right side up again as I shot both of my guns at Seymour. As soon as I landed on my feet, I watched Seymour fall onto his knees, giving up.

I blew the smoke coming out of my guns away as I smirked. "Told you I wouldn't let you get away with it." I said to Seymour.

Yuna ran over to Seymour to examine him.

"Yuna...you would pity me now?" He smiled slightly before falling onto his back.

We all approached him as Yuna fell on her knees beside him and closed his eyes that were wide opened. He was dead.

We had won the battle, but it only took a moment to realize what we had done whenever the door on the other side of the room opened up. 


	32. Chapter 32: Under the Ice

Tromell ran into the room with more guado guards as we all stood around the dead man's body.

"Lord Seymour! What happened here?"

Tromell and his assisstants knelt down at Seymour's body and we all backed out of the way. All Hell was about to break loose.

"What...what have I done?" Wakka said.

"Wait a minute! It's not our fault at all! Seymour struck first! He's the bad guy!" Tidus said.

"Do you wanna see what he did to my arm?" I asked. "Only a guado can cause these kinds of scratches!"

Tromell stood up and approached us. "You did this?"

"Yuna. Send him." Auron commanded.

She began to twirl her staff around until Tromell shouted, "No, stop! Stay away from him, traitors!"

The two assisstants picked up Seymour's lifeless body and carried it out of the room, Tromell following close behind them.

Yuna fell on her knees. "Traitors?"

"We're finished." Wakka said, his voice full of despair.

"Now hold on just a minute! Seymour's the bad guy, right? We'll just explain to everyone what happened!" Tidus said.

"You really think they're gonna believe us when we say a Maester attacked us and tried to kill us?" I asked.

"It won't be that easy. Let's get out of here." Auron said.

We all began to run out of the room and through the ice tunnel we had constructed earlier until the bridge had began to vanish beneath our feet, almost sending us into the cloister below.

"Gimme a break." I muttered.

We all descended from the ice bridge and into the cloister. We began to put all the spheres back into their rightful place to reveal the bridge again. Once it did, we ran out of the cloister and into the main lobby of the temple. Unfortunately, a series of guards and Tromell blocked our way of running away.

"Please..." Yuna pleaded with them.

"Give us a chance to explain." Auron added.

But Tromell shook his head. "No need. I already know what I'll tell the other maesters."

"Meaning what?" I questioned.

"Lord Seymour was the leader of the Guado before becoming a maester." Tromell said.

Tidus became more angry and stepped forward. "You're not letting us go."

The Guado scoffed. "Let you go? Lord Seymour would never forgive us if we did."

"Wait, wait!" Rikku interrupted. "Jyscal's sphere! We can show it to them!"

"You mean this?" Tromell asked.

We all gasped as he held up the sphere and crushed it in his hand.

"Hey! That is a violation of private property!" I yelled.

"The Guado take care of Guado affairs." He responded.

Kimahri broke out his spear and pointed it at the guards and yelled, "Away!"

In a moment of confusion, Auron signaled for everyone to begin running. We all charged out of the temple and onto the icy ground.

"Stop them!" An angry Tromell yelled behind us.

We all kept running down the path in a single file. I turned my head to see one of the guards gaining speed on me. I pulled out one of my guns and began to shoot at his feet, making him jump around.

The guard fell to the ground and rolled off of the path and into the abyss below. I pumped my fist in excitement and kept running to keep up with the others.

Unfortunately, two more guards caught up to us. I ran as fast as my legs were able, but felt a hot sensation on my back. One of the guards had slashed me as I was running.

I yelped out in pain, but kept running to get away from them.

Soon, we were back at the lake, freezing from the fierce wind. Thinking we were home free, we ran towards the Travel Agency, but was stopped by a huge beast called Wendigo.

The beast jumped in front of us and began a battle with the Guado goons as its sidekicks.

We quickly knocked down the guards after Rikku stole their items. We all took turns hammering away at the beast. Of course Auron made the most damage, but when the Wendigo hit Berserk mode, I knew we were in trouble.

It smashed all of us around until we finally drained its heart power. With the last of its energy, the Wendigo pounded its fists onto the icy lake, causing it to crack and break beneath our feet.

The only thing I remember after that was hearing everyone scream, then darkness.

The gentle Hymn of the Fayth brought me from the darkness. I slowly opened my eyes and took notice of the pounding headache I had.

With my newly learned white magic, I healed myself from all my wounds and sat up. I had landed on a huge boulder after the fall.

I took in my surroundings. There were remains of an ancient temple and pyreflies all around me, and there was water on the ground.

I stood up and expected it to be deep, but it only came up to my ankles.

I heard talking in the distance, so I walked around and found Rikku and Tidus speaking to each other.

"I'm sure Yunie's okay. She's breathing fine and all. Same for Riley. How are Lulu and Wakka?" She said.

"Well, Wakka's in shock. Can't blame him, either. And Lulu, well, she's just the same as always."

"She's so together. All grown up, I guess."

"I guess." He replied.

"Well, just give me five or six more years."

Tidus chuckled at her and turned around to meet my eyes. Automatically, he smiled.

He ran to me and gave me a big hug, making it hard for me to breathe.

"I'm glad you're okay!" He said.

I hugged him back and tried to choke out a response, "Same for you."

He noticed he was holding me too hard and quickly let go. He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously.

"Hehe.. sorry about that!"

I giggled at his blush and straightened out my clothes. "It's okay."

All of a sudden, he cleared his throat and got a serious look on his face. "Look, I'm sorry I let you go alone with Yuna. I knew something bad was going to happen. I should've been a better guardian to you guys."

I looked down at my feet, knowing it was partly my fault.

"No need to be sorry. I should have told you guys about the sphere once I found out. We just thought we could handle it on our own. Plus I kinda pissed Seymour off so that's why I got hurt."

He smirked slightly, knowing that I was happy to give Seymour a piece of my mind.

"I know. You were just trying to protect the rest of us. But I don't want to see you hurt like that again. It made me mad." He said.

"I know it did. I saw your face."

He smiled and gave me another hug before going to talk to Kimahri.

"So, Kimahri, how do we get out of here?"

Rikku came back over and interjected. "Hey, don't change the subject!"

She looked at me and smiled. She knew how Tidus and I felt about each other, even though I never told her. She's just good at reading people like that.

"We climb." The Ronso responded.

"Kimahri, too!" Rikku said.

"Only those who try will become."

"Huh?" She questioned.

I was also confused by this.

"I think he means you have to work hard if you want to be like Lulu." Tidus said.

"Oh! I will!"

"Kimahri think Rikku should stay Rikku."

"Yeah! Me too!" I added.

We seriously didn't need two Lulus running around.

"Hey! Are you saying I'll never be like Lulu?" She asked us.

I just laughed at her and rolled my eyes.

"Riley!" She said.

She looked at Kimahri for a response, but he did the same.

"Kimahri!"

Tidus began to laugh at us too, but we were interrupted by a very grumpy Wakka.

"How can you laugh at a time like this!?" He said.

Suddenly, someone began to groan loudly, we all turned around and saw Yuna began to stir from her slumber.

"Yuna!" We all said.

I could tell we were about to do some explaining.

"I wanted to confront Maester Seymour about his father, Lord Jyscal. I wanted to convince him to turn himself in to Yevon's judgement."

"In exchange for marriage?" Lulu questioned.

Yuna nodded her head, "Yes, if that's what it took."

"So, what did Seymour say?" Tidus asked.

I scoffed and folded my arms across my chest, "He didn't tell us anything."

Yuna shook her head in agreement. "He didn't say anything. Now...now I don't even think it was worth it. I ended up risking the life of one of my guardians. I should've told you all what we were going to do."

"Enough," Auron interjected. "Dwelling in the past is futile."

"Hey! You don't have to say it like that!" Rikku shouted.

"You want to waste time listening to her regrets?" He asked.

She looked back at Yuna and I with a sad look on her face. "You don't have to say it like that."

"Our immediate concern is Yuna's pilgrimage. Are you willing to go on?" He asked.

"Yes. But then, do you think Yevon will allow it?"

"The fayth are the ones that give power to the summoners. Not the temples or the teachings. If the temples try to stop us... then we will defy Yevon if we must." He said gruffly.

Everyone's eyes grew ten times bigger after he said that. I, on the other hand, wasn't that surprised.

"Whoa!" Tidus said.

"I can't believe you said that!" Rikku said.

"Sir Auron!?" Lulu questioned.

Wakka shook his head fiercely. "Count me out. We have to atone, to make up for the sins we have committed. Of course... It's not like I ever liked Maester Seymour, ya? No way I'll ever forgive him for killing Lord Jyscal. And for trying to do us all in too, you know? But still, the bunch of us going against Yevon? No way!"

"But still, we have transgressed and must face our punishment." Lulu responded.

"We must go to Bevelle. We must speak with Maester Mika and explain what has happened. There is no other way, I think." Yuna said.

"I agree." Wakka said.

"Sir Auron..." Yuna began.

"So it is decided." He said.

"Will you come with us?" She asked.

He chuckled, "I am the troublemaker, after all."

"Yeah, that's right! You can always count on Auron to complicate things!" Tidus said.

Rikku jumped right into the conversation. "Yeah! Kimahri roars, and Auron runs off, and..."

"I never asked you to follow me." He said.

"Hey, but that's what friends are for. Right?" Tidus asked.

"Yep!" Rikku said.

Yuna walked up to Tidus and said "Thank you."

For what? I'm not sure. But the way she smiled at him, I could see it in her eyes that she had feelings for him.

I sighed and sat down on a nearby stone. I just hoped he didn't feel the same way.

Auron walked away, as did Yuna and Kimahri.

"Friends, huh?" Rikku said as she scratched the side of her head in thought. She began to walk off in her own direction.

"Man... How can you all act like nothing's wrong? Must got nerves of steel or something." Wakka said.

Lulu giggled, "You're too edgy. Listen to the hymn and calm down."

"Is that coming from the temple?" I questioned.

"Yes, it is Yevon's gift. It soothes the hearts of the faithful." Yuna said, coming to sit beside me.

I leaned back and closed my eyes, listening to the peaceful song.

Everyone was recollecting themselves and relaxing, when suddenly, it grew silent.

"The singing stopped." Lulu said.

The ground began shaking as we all looked around for evidence of what was happening.

"There's something here!" Wakka said.

"The ground!" Auron shouted.

I looked from the ground to the top of the lake and gasped at the sight.

"Sin!?" Yuna yelled.

We all began to gasp and look at the creature sitting above the water.'

"The toxin! Watch out!" Lulu shouted.

I looked for Tidus everywhere, but found him sitting on the ground, talking to himself.

"The song... You were listening, too! What is it this time?"

The ground began to shake violently as I tried to yell for him to snap out of it, but it was no use.

I instantly panicked.

I began to run to get out of there, but something hit me on the head and everything went black.


	33. Chapter 33: Home (Part 1)

**Hello again! Sorry I've been away for so long, everyone! I feel like I just kinda lost touch with this story and I almost gave up on trying to complete it. But I did something last week that changed my mind. I re-read this and thought to myself, 'Wow. I'm actually pretty talented. Why did I stop again?' So I'm back! And I don't plan on taking any year and a half long breaks again. Lol. As always, I'm open to constructive criticism and will take your own ideas into consideration.**

**Enjoy reading!**

Do you ever have those moments when you wake up and you have no idea where the hell you are?

I feel like that's been happening WAY too much during this whole journey. I had no idea where I was taken to this time. But wherever it was, it was hot. Burning hot.

I felt my vision come back into play and debated on if I really wanted to get up and face the world.

Slowly, I sat up and rubbed my eyes, trying to get them to focus. All I could see around me was sand.

_'Maybe I'm back in Nevada and just landed in the desert.'_

I really hoped that was the case, but then again, I still wanted to be in Spira with the others. I knew there was still work to be done.

I forced myself to stand up and stretch so I could begin to walk. All I could see for miles around was yellow sand.

I groaned, but walked anyways.

**TIDUS' POV**

I jolted awake from my slumber to find myself in a small pool of water. I sat up and looked around to find nothing but desert all around me.

I internally began to ask my old man where he had taken me.

"_Where am I?_ _I forgive you, this time._ _Be good for a while, okay?_"

I got out of the small Oasis and began to walk through the desert. Hopefully, I could find someone else out here.

_'I hope Riley's okay.'_

It felt like I had been walking for miles when suddenly, a large, black bird engaged me into battle.

I was almost out of HP whenever the beast was struck with thunder. Auron and Lulu showed up just in time!

We defeated the beast together and put away our weapons.

"The others?" I asked.

"Haven't found them yet. We're supposed to stay in one place if we get split up."

Auron gave out a loud "Hmph" and walked away.

"Wait here if you want. He's not." I said.

We all walked together through the desert for a couple more miles. I was starting to get worried that something happened to Riley.

I spotted a piece of machina in the distance and ran to it, hoping to find Riley. But I instead found vibrant red hair sticking out everywhere.

"Wakka! You alone?" I asked.

"Mmmhmm." He responded.

I groaned and rubbed my neck. I was really starting to get worried now.

"Where's Yuna?" He asked.

Lulu looked at me for an answer, but I just looked back at her and shrugged my shoulders. Auron just stayed silent, as usual.

"Dammit!" Wakka yelled.

"First I lose Yuna, then I'm ambused by machina!"

He kicked a nearby piece of metal on the ground and huffed. "Great day I'm having."

We all ignored him as he began to moan and grumble about the Al Bhed and started walking through the desert once more.

I really wasn't in the mood to here his complaints about Yevon and all that.

Soon, we ran into Kimahri, who was trying to walk up a sand dune. Unfortunately, he kept sliding down because it was too steep for him.

He began to shake his head in disappointment.

"Yuna...gone." He said sadly.

"It's not your fault, Kimahri!" I said.

But he just simply looked at me and walked away with the rest of the group. Great. Now we just needed to find Rikku and Riley.

**RILEY'S POV**

I had been walking forever, my legs wanting to give out. I had fallen down several times, but had gotten back up in hopes of finding someone.

I almost gave up hope, until I spotted something orange in the distance. I smiled with joy and ran towards it, making it out to be a person.

I finally reached it and found it was Rikku. Thank God!

"Rikku!" I yelled.

She looked in my direction and smiled. "Riley! Thank goodness you're okay! Have you seen Yunie?"

I stopped to catch my breath and violently shook my head.

"You're the first person I've seen." I responded.

Although I was happy to be with people I know, I was also slightly disappointed that I was back home. I wanted to go home.

She looked at me and put her finger to her chin.

"I wonder what happened to everyone." She said.

Just as she said that, the rest of the crew came over a huge sand dune. Of course I looked at Tidus first to make sure he was okay. His eyes met mine and it looked like a huge wave of relief washed over him as he smiled at me.

"Oh! Hey, guys! Where's Yunie?" She asked them.

Tidus shook his head. "Gone."

Lulu facepalmed. "Gone... Some guardian I am."

Rikku began to blush slightly in embarrassment. "Umm... There's something I wanna tell you, but promise not to say anything."

Of course she gained a glare from Wakka, who looked very pissed off.

"No glaring either!" She shouted.

"I know where we are. We're on Bikanel Island. There's a place us Al Bhed call Home near here. Yunie's there, I'm sure of it! Other Al Bhed must've come and rescued her!"

"Rescued? You mean kidnapped!" Wakka questioned.

He really needed to relax.

"What does it matter as long as she's safe?" I said. I was getting tired of his anti Al-Bhed shit.

Rikku shook her head in agreement. "That's right! Anyway, I will take you there if you promise... that you won't tell anyone about it. Especially not Yevonites, okay? You know they don't like us Al Bhed. Who knows what they'll do if they knew?"

The redhead groaned. "Gimme a break. What are you accusing Yevon of this time?"

"Yevon did something really bad to us before." She explained.

"Well, you Al Bhed must've deserved it." He retorted back.

By this time, everyone was growing tired of their fighting.

I groaned loudly in frustration, as did Tidus.

"Can't you guys talk about this later?" He asked.

"Just promise you won't tell anyone about this island. Promise?" Rikku asked.

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, except for Wakka, who crossed his arms like a five year old.

"Wakka, come on!" I begged.

Finally, he gave in. "All right, I promise! Lead the way."

Rikku smiled and jumped for joy. "You got it!"

We all began to follow her through the desert. I was really beginning to question if she even knew where we were going.

Along the way, Tidus and I had slipped to the back of the group and began talking.

"I'm glad you're okay. I was getting worried about you." He admitted.

I blushed, "That's sweet of you. I'm glad you're okay too."

"I promise that the next time something like that happens, I'm going to grab onto you and never let you go." He said.

I smiled, "And if we ever get seperated again, just whistle."

"I'll come running." He finished for me.

We stopped walking and smiled at each other. It was such a sweet moment.

"Over here, guys!" Rikku said.

Tidus and I didn't bother to break our eye contact.

Unfortunately, it was spoiled whenever Rikku began to scream and run down a sand dune. We snapped away from our happy love land and ran to see what was going on.

I gasped and put my hand over my mouth in horror over what I saw.


	34. Chapter 34: Home (Part 2)

"Rikku!" Tidus shouted as the blonde girl ran towards the burning building.

What was once known as Home was now almost completely in ruins. Clouds of smoke flew to the sky and fiends were surrounding the area.

None of us could look away from the horrible scene taking place in front of us.

Wakka began to freak out. "What? Yuna's down there?"

Lulu sighed. "Of all the places... Let's go!"

We could see the Al Bhed soldiers trying to defend their Home by attacking, but the feiends were too strong.

"Where's Yuna?" Wakka asked one of them. But he fell over, holding his stomach. He had obviously had enough.

Rikku fell to his side, crying. "Keyakku! Who? Who's attacking us? Fru tet drec du oui?"

I've been trying to practice my Al Bhed along the way, and I think she asked 'Who did this to you?'

"Yevon... Guado..." He barely whispered before closing his eyes and dying right before us.

Rikku began to cry out to him. "Keyakku? Keyakku!"

I placed my hand on her shoulder and shook my head. "He's gone."

She looked back down at him in pain as a response.

"A war? Between Yevon and the Al Bhed?" Lulu concluded.

"Dryd ec fnuhk! Guado ku vun dra summoner." (That is wrong! Guado go for the summoner.")

"Vydran..." (Father...) Rikku said softly.

A bald man approached her, knelt down beside Keyakku, and feels for his pulse.

He stood back up and acknowledged us."You Rikku's friends? Well, just don't stand there, come on! Let's go kick those Guado out of our Home!"

Everyone took off into Home while Tidus, Rikku and I stayed behind.

"Who...?" Tidus asked.

"Cid. Leader of the Al Bhed... He's my dad." She replied.

So I was right. I guess my Al Bhed skills are getting better.

Tidus shook his head. "Let's go."

Rikku gave us a brave smile. "Yeah. We have to save Yunie."

I smiled back. "Not only Yuna. Right?"

"Right!" She shouted as we ran into the burning building.

"Yuna! Where are you?" Wakka shouted.

But instead of being given a summoner, a Guado soldier and 3 bomb fiends attacked us. After stealing from the Guado and knocking him out, we quickly defeated the bombs.

"What in Yevon's name are those Guado thinking?" Wakka asked.

"This is terrible!" Rikku shouted.

As we ran into the next room, Cid's voice came over the intercom.

"Drec pedac! **Rikku**! Oui nayt sa? Oui ku ihtan, duu! E ys majamehk **Home**! Yht dra **fiend** fedr ed! (This bites! Rikku! You read me? You go under, too! I am leveling Home! And the fiend with it!")

"Oh, no!" Rikku said.

"What'd he say!?" Wakka shouted.

"We have to get underground!" She replied.

"Where's Yuna?" Auron asked.

He seemed surprisingly calm in this whole situation.

"The Summoner's Sanctum! This way!" She said as she began to run.

But we were ambushed yet again by a group of fiends.

"Give me a break already." I muttered as I loaded my gun.

I couldn't take all the death all around us. The fire, the chaos. I tried to block it out.

_'A guardian needs to keep cool and search for the summoner.'_

I collected my thoughts as we destroyed the next batch of fiends and ran down a flight of stairs.

Sirens were blaring throughout the building.

"Over here!" Rikku told us.

We followed her into a room that showed just as much destruction. The walls were on fire and the debris was falling from the ceiling. Everyone was silent as we tried to take it all in.

"This place done for." Wakka said sadly.

Rikku replied with her head down. "You're right. You're right, Wakka. We Al Bhed, we... we weren't always like this. Sin destroyed the island where we all used to live. After that, we were scattered to every corner of Spira. But then, my dad brought the Al Bhed together again. If we put our minds to it and worked together, then we could make a new home. Everyone worked hard, we had our Home back again... But now... Why did things have to turn out this way?"

As she was beginning to cry, two large fiends began to surround us. Wakka looked awestruck at the blonde girl and wrapped his arms around her.

"Rikku... Damn those Guado! What are they thinking?" He shouted angrily.

As we yet again got in a fight with some fiends, my mind was getting cluttered. I obviously was handling all of the death surrounding us well.

We managed to get away from the fiends and descended another flight of stairs. This place was huge!

"Rikku, what is the Summoners' Sanctum?" Lulu asked.

"The Summoners' Sanctum is where we keep the summoners. We keep them safe there." She replied.

"You kidnapped them." Wakka said.

She nodded knowing that it was the wrong thing to do. "I know it's against the teachings and all that..."

"I get why you did it, but..."

But the redhead was interruped by Tidus.

"Well, I sure don't get it, Wakka. They might get hurt on their pilgrimage so you kidnap them? I mean, if the summoners don't do their job, then who will beat Sin? You want to protect them, I know. But guardians are there for that. If guardians do their job well, summoners will be safe!"

He seemed slightly pissed off, but I wasn't objecting. I was just as curious as he was. I didn't really understand why everyone was so quiet.

"Right?" He asked.

Only more silence accompanied the blaring sirens and sound of crackling debris.

"Right!?" He asked again. By this time, he was getting frustrated.

Then, everything grew silent. Everything. No more sirens. No more fire crackling. Nothing.

The Ronso stepped forward. "It's quiet. Kimahri goes now."

Kimahri walked down the steps to the Summoners' Sanctum. The others began to follow in what seemed like slow motion; not a single word was uttered.

My mouth hung upon as I watched everyone walk down the stairs except the two blondes.

They just stared at each other. Rikku looked at me with a pained look on her face before walking down the stairs into the room.

I really had no idea what was going on.

Tidus looked back at me with the most confusing look on his face. I just shook my head at him and walked into the Summoner's Sanctum to get to the bottom of it all.

"Yuna, please be here!" Rikku shouted.

Once inside, Rikku took a look around, and gasped. The room was completely destroyed as fire was everywhere. Dead bodies littered the room.

"Yuna!" Kimahri roared.

We were all in desperation to find our beloved summoner. The evergrowing silence was killing me.

"She's not here." A familiar voice said.

Donna approached us and greeted our group. "Hello again. Wait there until we have performed the sending."

Isaaru was also there with a sullen look. "They died...protecting us. It's not much, but the least we can do is give them a proper sending."

Pacce, his younger brother ran up to me and Tidus and began jumping up and down.

"Hey, what's 'sacrificed'? The Al Bhed said summoners were being sacrificed. That summoners shouldn't have to do a pilgrimage..."

Tidus didn't answer him. He just started going off on some tangent.

"Why couldn't they trust guardians to protect summoners... The Al Bhed had no right stopping their pilgrimage!"

"The pilgrimages have to stop!" Rikku yelled with pain in her voice. Tears were running down her cheeks.

"If they don't, and they get to Zanaraknd... They might defeat Sin. Yunie could...but then she... Yunie will die, you know?"

**That's when my world started crashing down.**

"Wha-what?" I asked her.

"You know, don't you? Summoners journey to get the Final Aeon. Yuna told you, didn't she? With the Final Aeon, she can beat Sin...but then... If she calls it, then the Final Aeon's gonna kill her. Even if she defeats Sin, it will kill Yunie too, you know?"

She fell down to her knees in anguish. I couldn't understand. I DIDN'T understand.

I began to shake all over. All of my emotions that have been pent up inside of me began to erupt.

"Was I the only one who didn't know?!" I asked angrily.

I looked from person to person. No one would look me in the eyes.

"Answer me, damnit! Why didn't anyone tell me?!" I asked.

Again, no answer.

I screamed in frustration. I couldn't take losing Yuna. I had grown such a strong connection to her. We were like sisters.

The only one who seemed to be as surprised as I was was Tidus. But he stayed silent.

"Why were you hiding it?" I asked them.

"We weren't hiding it..." Wakka said quietly.

"It was just...too hard to say." Lulu added with a sad voice.

All of a sudden, Tidus let out a loud yelp and fell to his knees.

"Lulu! How could you? How could you? Isn't she like a sister to you? I thought you were family! Why don't you do something, Wakka?"

Lulu rose her voice. "Don't you think we tried to stop her? She follows...her heart."

"Yuna, she knew what she was doing when she chose to become a summoner. To face Sin, ya? Yuna knew!"

By this time the tears were already running down my face and onto the ground. I was confused, angry, sad, full of regret.

Rikku stood back up and got back in the conversation. "But, Wakka, that's just totally wrong! Summoners shouldn't have to sacrifice themselves... just so the rest of Spira can be happy, right?"

"No one should have to do that! I'm not even from Spira and I know that this whole thing is wrong. Especially someone like Yuna! She doesn't deserve this!" I said with a cracking voice.

The pyreflies around us began to form a Wendigo, the beast we fought on the lake's surface.

"But that is our choice..." Isaaru said.

"We all live in fear of Sin. You know that." Dona added.

"A world without Sin... That is the dream of all Yevon's children. And we will use that power, even if it means our lives!"

Together, they summoned Ifrit and Valefor to confront the Wendigo.

Valefor flew down in front of Tidus and closed its wings around him. I just sat on the ground and put my head in my hands.

I listened to him spill his guts to the Aeon.

"And I've been telling Yuna 'Let's go to Zanaraknd together!' I told her all the things...we could...we could... But Yuna, she'd... just smile."

Of course this pissed me off, but at this point I didn't care about Tidus.

I just couldn't get over it. I just kept replaying her words over and over in my head.

"I want my journey to be filled with laughter."

She had told me that before we left Besaid. Before I knew what was going to happen. And I've just been pushing her along.

"I've been such a terrible friend." I said.

I stood up with shaky knees and wiped my eyes. "I have to find her and tell her I'm sorry. But I'm telling you all this right now. I won't let her die."


	35. Chapter 35: The Airship

Everyone ran out of the room and up a flight of stairs into an open room. We were preparing to leave Home.

Cin ran in and began shouting. "Hu desa! Ku, ku, ku!" (No time! Go, go, go!)

"**Three minute** mavd!" (Three minute left!) The pilot responded.

"Rinno, rinno! Oui ryja **one minute**!" (Hurry, hurry! You have one minute!)

Tidus ran in and began questioning right away.

"Where's Yuna?"

Cid completely ignored him. "Ajanouha uh puynt?" (Everyone on board?) "Ajanouha ymeja!" (Everyone alive!)

Tidus, being impatient, went up to Cid and pulls him around to face him.

"I said, where is she? Answer me! Answer me, damn you!"

The rest of the group just looked off in a different direction to avoid any eye contact.

Cid was obviously not amused. "What'll you do when you find her, eh?"

"I didn't know anything about what a summoner is supposed to do. And I told her all those things without even knowing. I've got to tell her. I've got to tell her I'm sorry!"

"That's it? You're gonna tell her you're sorry? And then you just drag her to Zanarkand and make her fight Sin, huh? You're all the same-let the summoner die so we can live in peace!"

The Al Bhed man grabbed Tidus and flipped him over so he landed on his back on the floor.

Tidus grunted in pain, but recovered quickly. "No! I'm not gonna let Yuna die!"

"Hah! Words! Show me action!"

I stepped in between the two men and looked Cid straight in the eyes.

"Just get us out of here. The faster we can find Yuna, the faster we can save her from sacrificing herself. I will NOT let her die!"

"Little lady, don't forget those words, 'cause if you do... I'm gonna make you regret it."

"I won't." I said strictly before walking away from him, leaving everyone in awe.

Cid turned away and looked into a large flourescent sphere of light in the middle of the bridge. Tidus approached him after he had composed himself.

"So you know where she is?" He asked.

Cid scoffed. "Course not. That's why we're gonna look! Using this airship!"

Wakka began to freak out, again. "A-Airship?"

The ship began to rumble and took us all off guard.

"Vydran! Nayto du ku!" (Father! Ready to go!) The pilot said.

I'm guessing that he's Rikku's brother.

"Oaaryy! Y vmekrd **1000 years** ujantia!" (Yeehaa! A flight 1000 years overdue!) Cid said with glee.

I could feel the airship begin to rise out of the ground and sand began to surround us. We must have been coming out of a piece of the ground.

"Fruy! Ed sujac!" (Whoa! It moves!)

"I would hope it moves." I muttered.

"Necg pek, feh pek!" (Risk big, win big!) Cid replied to me.

We began to fly through the sky as fiends tried to chase us. Of course they couldn't keep up.

"Fruy! Ed vmeac!" (Whoa! It flies!)

"Haqd, fa ica dryd!" (Next, we use that!)

The pilot looked down in sadness. "Frydajan oui cyo." (Whatever you say.)

He quietly began to sing the Hymn that we all knew too well from the temples. Cid and the other Al Bhed began to join in as Rikku looked on in sadness.

"What's goin' on?" Wakka asked.

"We're...we're going to blow up our Home." She said sadly.

"How?" Lulu asked.

"With one of the forbidden machina!" He shouted.

He turned to face the Al Bhed to the left of the pilot and gave him the signal. "Nayto? Vena!" (Ready? Fire!)

One side of the Airship opened up as a barrage of missiles flew out with force, connecting with Home, creating a huge explosion. The explosion shockwave gained speed on the airship and overpassed it, but the airship sped up, to avoid destruction.

"**Gah-hah-hah-hah**! Nadinh du cyht!" (Gah-hah-hah-hah! Return to sand!)

He didn't seem very sad about his Home being destroyed. The pilot, on the other hand, was in sobs.

"Hu haat vun daync! Fryd ec kuut ypuid **machina**, ec drao lyh pa piemd yhaf, oui caa?" (No need for tears!) (What is good about machina, is they can be built anew, you see?)

Wakka noticed Rikku was still looking at her feet, sadness covered her face.

"Hey, look. Don't get so down. Boom! Like happy festival fireworks, ya?"

"You can cram your happy festival, you big meanie!" She retorted.

She walked away in anger as Wakka hung his head. I gave him a pat on the shoulder to ease him.

"At least you tried." I said.

Tidus went back to Cid and tried interrogating him yet again.

"Did you find out anything about Yuna?"

"I'm lookin' into it, okay?" Cid said.

Tidus just sighed and hung his head.

"Don't worry, I'm using a sphere oscillo-finder. If she's out there, we'll get her."

That got my curiosity running.

"A sphere oscillo-finder?" I asked, walking towards the two men.

Cid looked at me before responding. "It's an ancient machina. I don't know how it works either, so don't ask me, okay?"

Lulu chuckled, "And you still use it?"

This made Cid laugh hysterically.

"I don't even rightly know how this rig flies, either! All because of the Yevon taboo on machina, we're running around in the dark here! Ain't it a rush, kiddos?"

For the first time in what seemed like ages, Tidus exchanged worried looks. He began to laugh at me because my eyes had grown the size of watermelons.

This made Cid laugh even more.

"Alright. Well, I'm gonna leave before we all go crashing down to the ground." I said.

I wanted to explore the rest of this airship anyways.

"Hey! Wait up!" Tidus shouted after me.

"I figure you'd like to have some company." He told me.

I shrugged my shoulders. Although he was right. I didn't really want to be alone after what had happened.

We walked from the bridge of the airship to a long corridor that led to the other parts of the ship.

Along the corridor sat Dona, looking exhausted.

Tidus was about to talk to her until she interrupted. "Look, I'm really tired. Leave me. If it's not an emergency, would you mind leaving?"

He gave her a sigh. "Okay."

We started to walk away until she beckoned us back.

"Wait... There's something I want to ask you. What would you think if I said I...I was giving up my pilgrimage?"

"Sure! Sounds good to me." He said.

She looked surprised. "Unusual. Most people would never forgive a summoner who quit."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Behind my back, they would say I was abandoning my duty."

"So, who cares? Why not do your own thing and let them say what they want!" I replied.

She scoffed. "Easy for you to say. But...you do have a point. Maybe Barthello and I should go someplace far away."

As we left her alone, I came to a realization.

"You know, she's not half bad."

"I know. What you mean. She's actually got some common sense."

I nodded my head, "I just wish that everyone who complained about summoners not doing their job would walk a mile in their shoes. Hell, even our shoes."

He looked at me sadly and nodded his head. "Exactly."

I turned my back to him to return to the bridge, but he grabbed my hand.

"Riley, wait." He said.

"What is it?" I asked as I turned to face him.

"I, I didn't know about Yuna either. I'm just as confused on everything as you are. I just don't want you to be mad at me because you don't have to be alone in this. We can stick together. I don't want Yuna to die, and you don't either."

In everything he said, he was absolutely right. He just must have thought I was mad at him because I didn't talk to him.

"Tidus, I was never mad at you. I just can't wrap my mind around what's happening here. I just want to find Yuna and make everything right. She doesn't deserve to die."

"I know. I feel the same way."

And for a moment, I felt my cares begin to melt away. Just looking into his eyes did that to me.

I smiled at him, and squeezed his hand tightly.

We walked back to the bridge together and saw Auron talking to Cid.

"After rescuing Yuna, then what? You want to keep her safe, correct? Would you seek to stop her pilgrimage?"

"Of course! If she continues this fool pilgrimage, she will die! Sure as if you killed her yourself. No hare-brained law or teaching can send my little niece to her death! When I save her, I'll make her give up being a summoner quicker than a desert melts ice!" Cid replied.

"Even against her will?"

The bald man nodded his head. "Better than a dog's death! And I'll take down anyone who don't agree!"

Auron sighed. "You are the captain."

"Good! Then it's settled!"

Auron just shook her head and left the bridge alone.

"Vydran! Fa vuiht **Yuna**!" (Father! We found Yuna!)

Everyone sprang into action right then. Tidus and I exchanged looks and moved behind the pilot.

"Frana!?" (Where!?)

"E femm cruf oui!" (I will show you!) He replied.

"Yuna?" Tidus asked.

The screen above the bridge showed us a picture. We all saw Yuna in a rather skimpy wedding dress. Standing beside her is none other than Seymour.

"What?!" I blurted out.

He's dressed in an outlandish kimono/tuxedo outfit. In my opinion, he looked pretty ridiculous. Behind him, to the right, is Maester Mika. A guard with a gun is standing on either side of Yuna and Seymour. They're at the top of a series of staircases with a large building in the background. Several other people and soldiers were all along the stairs. The picture faded away and we were left in shock.

"Where was that!?" Tidus asked.

"The Palace of St. Bevelle. Heart of Yevon." Lulu responded.

"Gramps, let's move!" Tidus shouted.

"Easy, kiddo. Bevelle's defenses are top-notch." Cid said.

I jumped up in front of Cid and placed my hands on my hips. "What's the matter, gramps? You scared? Yuna's there, so we go and get her! And that's all there is to it!"

"Now we're talking!" Tidus said behind me.

Cid chuckled at me. "You got guts. Cad luinca du **Bevelle**! Vimm cbaat yrayt!" (Set course to Bevelle! Full speed ahead!)

"Nukan!" (Roger!) The pilot responded as he brought the airship up to full speed.

We were all smart enough to hang on to something, except for Tidus, who fell down on his butt, giving us all a good laugh.

I had missed this side of us.


End file.
